Shiba Maggon - Hoopistani Indian Basketball Hall of Fame

A player, a coach, a referee, a leader. Shiba Maggon, called 'The Queen of Basketball', has found a way to be involved in Indian basketball for decades in a variety of roles. She has already given a lifetime of service to the game - and has a lifetime more left to give. For all this and more, she is now an entrant into the Hoopistani Indian Basketball Hall of Fame.

Born in Karnal, Haryana in 1976, Maggon found basketball success early in her life coming through the Sports Authority of India (SAI) in Chandigarh. The untimely death of her sister - an international netball and aspiring basketball player - thrust Maggon more passionately into the basketball realm from the early 90s. She later joined Western Railways, Ajmer in 1996 and was with them till 2002. In 2002 Shiba joined MTNL Delhi and played with them till Jan 2011. Her glittering domestic basketball career included seven gold medals and eight silvers for Railways and Delhi in the Senior Nationals, plus three gold medals and three bronzes in Federation Cups, between 1997-2011.

Maggon was selected for India's junior national team in 1992 and soon graduated to the seniors, for whom she became a staple for nearly 15 years of action. Maggon served often as India's captain and played in five FIBA Asia Championships for Women in the course of her career, and was ranked in the top 5 for Asian players in 2002. She was also part of Indian basketball team to take part at Commonwealth Games for the first time at Australia in 2006.

In 1998, Maggon got a scholarship to the Southwestern Oklahoma State University in 1998, where she majored in Physical Education. She also completed a diploma course in Olympism and Humanism with the International Olympic Academy in Athens, Greece. Maggon is credited as being one of the first Indian woman to be an international FIBA certified referee. She has also served as a basketball voice-over commentator and a lead coordinator for NBA India.

Her post-retirement career has since seen her succeed in different avenues of basketball, most notably coaching India's national teams at the senior, junior, and youth levels, as well as coaching Delhi in several domestic nationals. She has been a part of India's national women's team coaching staff for several important international events, including the 2018 Commonwealth Games, the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup, and more. She will continue the journey for India at the 2019 FIBA Asia Cup for Women. She is also in contention for the Dhyan Chand Award this year.

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Ajmer Singh Chopra - Hoopistani Indian Basketball Hall of Fame

The very first inductee into the Hoopistani Indian Basketball Hall of Fame is Ajmer Singh Chopra, the 6’5” swingman who is one of the most-accomplished Indian hoopers in history. Chopra’s career highlights include starring as India’s best player in our only Olympic basketball appearance (Moscow 1980), winning the 1982 Arjuna Award, and dominating in many more international and domestic championships.

Chopra was born in Rukanpur village near Karnal (Haryana) in 1953, just three years after the establishment of the Basketball Federation of India (BFI). He moved to Kota to hone his basketball skills, where he played for Rajasthan University. Chopra’s skills got him hired by Indian Railways, whom he represented domestically for several years of success, and continued to work for after retirement from the game. He played in 22 consecutive national championships for Haryana, Rajasthan, and Railways, and finished with 8 gold medals.

Internationally, Chopra represented India in multiple FIBA Asia Championships. His career peak, however, came in India’s unlikely qualification for the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, the first and only time that India has played basketball on the Olympic stage. Although India lost all seven games they participated in, Chopra shone individually, averaging a team-high 21.3 points per game to go with 5.4 rpg as well. He ended up as one of the top scorers in thr tournament. Two years later, in the 1982 Asian Games, he was again the tournament’s top scorer. Through the 70s and 80s, Chopra also represented Indian Railways in many international tournaments abroad.

Chopra was known to be an unstoppable scorer who was the country’s top option during their earlier “golden age” of basketball in the 70s/80s. In 1982, he was handed one of the nation’s top scoring honours, the Arjuna Award. He also received the highest sporting honours by both Haryana and Rajasthan states.

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