Rajasthan boys retain top honours, Tamil Nadu girls defend title

Rajasthan boys and Tamil Nadu girls emerged champions at the Sub-junior National Basketball Championship in Vijayawada. Rajasthan defeated defending champions Uttar Pradesh 77-56, while Tamil Nadu beat Maharashtra 65-55 to retain the girls’ title

Hyderabad: Rajasthan boys and Tamil Nadu girls emerged champions in the Sub-junior National Basketball Championship here on Sunday.

In the girls’ final, Tamil Nadu, which led Maharashtra 33-31 at half-time in an evenly contested game, retained the championship with a 65-55 victory. Dhanya top-scored for Tamil Nadu with 19 points.

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In the boys’ final, Rajasthan, which enjoyed a comfortable 44-25 lead at half-time, defeated defending champions Uttar Pradesh 77-56. Robin Dhanka top-scored for Rajasthan with 19 points, while Daksh Choudhary contributed 18.

The winners were presented Rs 3 lakh each, while the runners-up received Rs 2 lakh and the third-placed teams Rs 1 lakh each.

MP G M Harish Balayogi, Amalapuram, former MP A Indra Karan Reddy, NTR District Collector Dr G Lakshmisha, SAAP VC and MD S Bharani, Commissioner of Income Tax, Andhra Pradesh, Soumya Mishra, IRS, and Vijayawada Municipal Corporation Commissioner H M Dhyana Chandra, IAS, gave away the prizes.

Special prizes:

Best 3-point shooters:
Girls: Netra Damke, Maharashtra
Boys: Sharad Kumar, Uttar Pradesh

Most Valuable Players:
Girls: Dhanya M, Tamil Nadu
Boys: Rajat Vyas, Rajasthan

Players of the final:
Girls: V Anishika, Tamil Nadu; Viraj Bhanage, Maharashtra
Boys: Ronit Dhanka, Rajasthan; Sahil Kumar, Uttar Pradesh

The scores:

Girls’ final: Tamil Nadu 65 (Dhanya M 19, V Anishika 13) beat Maharashtra 55 (Maitrisha 13).

Girls’ third-place match: Uttar Pradesh 65 (Angel Malik 25, Tejasvi Karhana 9) beat Karnataka 49 (Aarushi Ananth 16, Devishi Jha 11).

Boys’ final: Rajasthan 77 (Robin Dhanka 19, Daksh Choudhary 18) beat Uttar Pradesh 56 (Sahil Kumar 22, Vansh Tomar 10).

Boys’ third-place match: Haryana 60 (Harsh Rathee 16, Keshav Kaushik 11) beat Maharashtra 54 (Mayank Sharma 11, Aarush Tomar 11).