The 30th edition of the National Basketball Federation Cup concluded at Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium in Bambolim on Monday. The prestigious tournament was hosted by the state for the first time since the inception of the tournament after the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) was awarded the hosting rights to Goa Basketball Association (GBA) this year. The tournament sees competition between top eight clubs in the country and most of India internationals in both men's and women's sections turned out for their respective teams in the event, which saw participation of over 200 basketball players.
Interestingly, by virtue of being the hosts, Goa had the chance to field teams in both men's and women's events. However, the state sides -- a selection of best Goan girls in the women's field and the Don Bosco Oratory team in the men's field -- were no match for their more illustrious rivals like the defending champions ONGC (Dehradun), Indian Overseas Bank (Tamil Nadu), Chhattishgarh and Kerala. For the handful of supporters that turned out to watch the matches of the host teams at the stadium, it was painful viewing. The teams hardly made any impact in the tournament and some of the results left the coaches red-faced.
Although, the Goa teams were never really expected to pull off major upsets in the tournament, the quality on offer from the State’s players will indeed be an eye opener for the state association. It's good that Goa got to host the most prestigious event in basketball in the country. It is the second biggest tournament since the Lusofonia Games that the State has hosted. The organisation of the Portuguese Commonwealth Games held in the state in 2014 has indeed left its legacy. The infrastructure created for the Games has made Goa a major draw for big national indoor events in various sports.
Goa will get to host major events like the Federation Cup in future too, even as the state is set to add more sports infrastructure for the National Games that will be held in the State next year. But along with infrastructure the State will have to start producing competitive athletes that can challenge the best sportsmen from the country.
To do that, State associations in many a sport will have to rise above their power politics. Sportsmen in the State, like their fellow athletes in other states and also at the national level have long suffered due to political meddling in sports associations. Basketball has been the latest victim of such a power struggle -- at the national level, which in turn has divided the sport in the State into warring factions.
The BFI is involved in an ongoing legal fight with a breakaway faction led by BJP MP Poonam Mahajan. While the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) supports BFI, which has K Govindaraj at its helm, the Indian Olympic Association supports the other faction. After the intervention of the courts, the Govindaraj-led federation has been allowed to conduct the sport in the country. As the two factions fought to wrest control of the sport in the country, the sport was severely affected by the imbroglio in the State as well.
For now, the dispute seems to have been settled. The GBA, which is headed by Fr Ralin De Souza, will now have to make a fresh start and draw a road map for the sport in the state.
