CM Chashak 41st Youth National Basketball Championship begins in Pune
The CM Chashak 41st Youth National Basketball Championship began in Pune with 54 state teams competing. Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Rajasthan recorded wins in the boys’ section, while Kerala, Maharashtra and Karnataka opened their girls’ campaigns with victories
Hyderabad: The courts at the Chondhe Patil Sports Complex in Pimple Nilakh, Pune, came alive as the CM Chashak 41st Youth National Basketball Championship tipped off. Organised by the Maharashtra State Basketball Association (MSBA) under the aegis of the Basketball Federation of India (BFI), the Under-16 national tournament features 54 state teams — 28 boys’ and 26 girls’ squads — competing in a 144-match campaign that runs until November 3.
The championship was formally inaugurated in a ceremony this evening by Aadhav Arjuna, president of the Basketball Federation of India and sports minister of Tamil Nadu.
Defending national champions Tamil Nadu made an early statement in Pool A, defeating Punjab 98-67 on Court 1. Arun Pandi and Kaushik Raj Singh led the winners with 19 points each, while Punjab’s Marinder Mohan Singh scored a game-high 22 points.
In the same pool, Kerala defeated Delhi 77-63, with Aldrin Anto Alex and Swaroop Girish contributing 17 points each.
In a high-scoring Pool B encounter, Rajasthan crossed the century mark to beat Gujarat 102-85. Himanshu and Akshay Nayak scored 22 points each, while Abhishek Chowdary added 21 to counter a 33-point effort from Gujarat’s Madhavendra Singh Jiathawat.
In the Level 1 girls’ Pool A, Kerala defeated Chhattisgarh 70-33, with Subhadra Jayakumar leading the scoring with 15 points. Hosts Maharashtra also began strongly, beating Gujarat 84-61. Vaishnavi Pardheshi led Maharashtra with 18 points, while Aashi Patel and Rutvibha Jadeja scored 21 points each for Gujarat.
In Pool B, Karnataka defeated Telangana 61-51, with Mahek Sharma contributing 21 points.
The Level 2 developmental matches across Courts 2, 3 and 4 also produced emphatic results. In the boys’ section, Karnataka defeated Himachal Pradesh 97-44, while Chandigarh edged Odisha 75-68 in a Pool E encounter.
In the Level 2 girls’ section, Jharkhand dominated Andaman and Nicobar Islands, restricting them to 19 points in a 91-19 victory.
