NAGPUR: Anandi Sonewane, top performer of Nagpur girls team in the recently held Maharashtra state selection sub-junior basketball championship, was on Thursday dropped from the 12-member state team for the nationals.
Riding on the performance of Anandi, Nagpur team won a silver medal in the U-13 state tournament at Kolhapur. Still, after the camp she was not selected. Instead, another Nagpur girl, Arya Dagarwar of Shivaji Nagar Gymkhana (SNG), the club of Maharashtra Basketball Association (MBA) secretary Shatrughna Gokhale, was selected.
A comparison of the performance of both players shows Anandi must be in the Maharashtra team. The Nagpur team played five matches, including the final, where Anandi scored a total of 64 points while Arya had scored 17 points.
President of Nagpur District Basketball Association (NDBA) Sandip Joshi was critical of the injustice. In a clear message to the secretary of MBA, Joshi said in a press release, "For your selfishness, please don't play with the future of young players. See the statistics of both Nagpur players. After comparing their performance, I feel Anandi shouldn't have been ignored. First of all, since Nagpur team played in the finals then both the Nagpur players should have been selected in the Maharashtra team."
Joshi added, "Anandi's performance ensured the Nagpur team was able to reach the final. She scored 64 points in five matches and has performed consistently in the tournament. If performance of a player is not considered, then what has to be the criteria to get selected in the team? I have received many complaints in the past against Gokhale about favouring players of his own club SNG, but this time we won't remain silent and NDBA will surely take stern action so that this kind of injustice is not repeated."
