Basketball Turmoil In India

The Sports Ministry of India have suspended any activities conducted by the Basketball Federation of India, until the bearers of the BFI are recognised by the government of India. This is massive setback for the Basketball players of India, with the upcoming South Asian Basketball Championship which India hopes to defend and head to the Basketball Asian Cup. It’s a stark reminder that in India, power-hungry officials end up juggling with the careers of Indian sportsmen and women.

The federation governing Indian basketball became a house divided six months prior. Two factions had emerged to stake a claim on running the federation. Each faction had elections in different venues. Two set of office-bearers took charge.

Result: Confusion

Looks like the sports ministry finally woke up.

The ministry drafted and sent a letter that is addressed to the president of each of the two factions. Dated on 12 June, 2015, AK Patro, under-secretary of the Government of India has written, “The ministry is not in a position to give recognition to either faction at this stage. Both factions are advised not to hold any official event in India and not to use the logo of this ministry or Sports Authority of India (SAI) until office bearers of BFI are recognized by the government.”
In a bid to seize control of the running of the BFI, the two rival factions held separate elections for president on 27 and 28 of March at Bangalore and Pune respectively. Mr. K. Govindraj who was previously the senior vice-president of the BFI was named president in the Bangalore election. The President of the Maharashtra State Basketball Association, Poonam Mahajan was elected president in the Pune election.

World Governing Body of Basketball, FIBA as well as the Government of India had observers in both elections, the Indian Olympic Association attended only the Pune AGM. In a letter dated 17 April, 2015, the IOA granted recognition to the BFI headed by Poonam Mahajan. Former CEO Roopam Harish was named its secretary general.

To add more confusion, FIBA has sent a letter of recognition to the Bangalore election, along with some special instructions to its president Govindraj and Secretary Chander Mukhi Sharma. Both officials have been asked by FIBA to meet the Pune group and settle the matter in a constructive manner, keeping basketball development in India as the main objective. It has warned that, failure to settle the current issue peacefully in a friendly and constructive manner. Failure to do so could result in FIBA sanctions on the country.

The FIBA recognition of the Bangalore group has forced Mahajan’s BFI to postpone the national youth championship in Assam. The Govindraj group on Friday announced it would conduct the 5 South Asian Basketball Championship (SABA) in Bangalore’s Kanteerva Stadium fro, the July 3-5. It is a qualifying route to the FIBA Asian Cup. India come in as the defending champions (and as such, played in the 2013 Asian Cup).

It is interesting to note that on the BIF website, www.indiabasketball.org , It is run by the Bangalore faction. There is no mention directly about the election and faction of Pune. The articles on the site include only their recognition letter from FIBA as well as the planned SABA event. The only other mention is the president and its secretary wanting to make ends meet. Whether they will each end up compromising and understanding to strike a new deal? That remains to be seen.

The Sports Ministry letter of asking both factions not to host any official event till the matter has been sorted, the real ones who lose out are the youth and senior level players of Basketball India. For a sport that is now rising in its popularity, this is not what is needed. India has a genuine chance to qualify for the FIBA Asian cup. A good performance in the international competitions would do no harm to the rising prospects of Indian Basketball Players. Amjyot Singh Gill, Amritpal Singh and Satnam Singh Bhamara are three players who would be starting a career abroad. Santam Singh Bhamara has now declared himself for the upcoming 2015 NBA draft, and may become the 2 Indian player in the NBA. NBA Commissioner, Adam Silver on a recent trip to India has even praised the country’s development and hopes to see more Indian player’s competing with the best at the NBA in the future.

With positive momentum going, Basketball in India can only hope the BFI parties can meet as per the terms of the FIBA and Government of India, make agreements as soon as possible to allow the ban on official basketball activities in India to be lifted. In future, we can be hoping to see more Indians in the NBA and Euro League’s best teams. Women in the W-NBA as well. The national teams could then, be challenging not only for the Asian cup, but the basketball world cup and summer Olympic medals.