Nagpur, Jan. 15
Earlier the game of baseball was restricted to a few clubs and particularly in West and South-West area of the city but in the last few years the game has made rapid progress and has spread almost across the city thanks to the efforts taken by Nagpur Municipal Corporation in developing infrastructure and Nagpur District Basketball Association (NDBA) for conducting regular activities.
The popularity of basketball in the Orange City can be gauged from the fact that in the recently held District Junior Championship 18 boys and an equal number of girls teams participated even against the backdrop of Covid-19 pandemic.
As far as the success of the district hoopsters is concerned then the junior girls team retained the title in the State championship held at Aurangabad and then four players were also selected in the state team for the nationals.
Today as many as 12 clubs including NBYS, SNG, DKM, SKS, NASA, HKM, GKM, CPS, PLSC, SKM, ABCD and ABC are permanent active members of the association. New clubs including Phoenix, Pawanbhoomi, Sparten, Achivers, ESKM, UBA , PDSA, NYSS have become active in the last few years and now they are giving tough competition to the established ones. Tanuk Gurnule of new club Phoenix held Nagpur district team in the State championship and was also named for the nationals.
When Lokmat Times talked to some experts in the field of basketball to find out the reasons behind the phenomenal rise of basketball clubs in the city.
The president of Nagpur District Basketball Association and former mayor Sandip Joshi said infrastructure development is the main reason behind the popularity of the games. “ Take the example of HKM and GKM (other side of the railway bridge) The clubs get the facelift thanks to NMC. The corporation has also developed infrastructure for basketball in other parts of the city. Secondly, in Khasdar Krida Mahotsava we have been organising competitions in various parts of the city. It has also helped us to attract more and more students towards this game”.
Former vice-president of Maharashtra Basketball Association and Shiv Chhatrapati awardee Shatrughna Gokhale said, “ We have seen ups and downs in various sports but basketball has made tremendous progress. The main reason is that the association has given encouragement to the new clubs and has created a competitive atmosphere in the city. It also helped the association to nurture the new talent”. NDBA secretary Bhavesh Kuchanwar has thanked senior players of the established clubs who are offering their services to the new clubs. “ Some senior players have come forward to train the players in new clubs. Secondly, the NBA camp, coaches camp in the recent past has also helped to increase the interest among the players and parents”, he said.