The Indian men’s basketball team qualified for the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 main draw with a satisfactory show at the Asia Cup qualifiers.
In the qualifying tournament held at Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), India lost its opening outing to Saudi Arabia 61-80 before edging out Palestine 79-77.
India’s passage to the main draw was sealed after Saudi Arabia defeated Palestine in a one-sided affair.
Amritpal Singh (30 points) and Amjyot Singh (23 points) starred in India’s victory over Palestine.
Joginder Singh (17 points) emerged as the top-scorer in the defeat to table-topper Saudi Arabia.
This is the 10th straight FIBA Asia Cup appearance for the Indian men’s team.
The 2021 edition is scheduled to be held in Jakarta (Indonesia) next year.
The team has also booked a slot for the FIBA World Cup 2023 Asian qualifiers, which begins in November this year.
Basketball Federation of India (BFI) president K. Govindraj announced a cash prize of ₹10 lakh to the team.
