Teams confirm knockout berths in Junior National Basketball Championship

Several teams, including Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Karnataka, entered the knockout stage of the 76th Junior National Basketball Championship in Puducherry. Haryana upset Karnataka in the men’s section, while Karnataka women defeated defending champions Tamil Nadu in a key clash

Hyderabad: Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Haryana, Rajasthan and Chandigarh have secured their berths in the knockout stage of the 76th Junior National Basketball Championship in Puducherry on Monday.

The women’s section is equally competitive, with Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh confirming their positions in the next round.

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The final day of league play was marked by dominant performances, major upsets and stunning turnarounds.

In a major men’s Group B upset, Haryana handed Karnataka a heavy blow with a commanding 94-68 victory.

The offensive display was powered by a 36-point performance from Ajay, alongside crucial contributions from Mayank Khanchi (24) and Rahul (21), while Adithya Vittal Shenoy and Vaibhav Gowda managed 12 points each for Karnataka.

Rajasthan’s men’s team also put on a clinical offensive display, routing Punjab 91-47.

The winning side saw five players score in double digits, led by Muhammed Raza Khan (22) and Bupinder Singh Rathore (20), comfortably outpacing Punjab’s top scorer Shaurya Sachdeva (16).

Meanwhile, Delhi men continued their fine form by convincingly defeating Madhya Pradesh 96-72, anchored by Muhammed Sain Gauri’s 25 points, offsetting a game-high 29 points from Madhya Pradesh’s Prashanth Singh.

The women’s division featured a close Group B contest where Rajasthan overcame Uttar Pradesh 59-56. Rajasthan built a massive 37-17 lead at the interval through Shalini Nirwan (16) and Ankita (13) and managed to hold off a late charge from Deepika Chauhan (16) and the Uttar Pradesh team.

In another major Group B fixture, Kerala crushed Gujarat 59-30, spearheaded by Subhadra Jayakumar’s 18 points. This defeat resulted in last year’s runners-up Gujarat making an early exit from Level 1.

In Group A, Haryana upset Karnataka 74-47, with Shravani Shivanna (19) and Nidhi Umesh (17) leading the scoring charts.

Late-night matches on Sunday also shook up the standings. In a high-voltage women’s Group A clash, defending champions Tamil Nadu suffered a heavy setback, falling 89-62 to an aggressive Karnataka side. Karnataka’s multi-pronged attack was led by Nilaaya Reddy (19) and Nidhi Umesh (18), overshadowing M Kavya’s 17-point effort for Tamil Nadu.

On the men’s side, Delhi edged past Kerala 59-55 in a gruelling defensive battle. Muhammed Sain Gauri again anchored Delhi with 24 points, while Naijal Jacob scored 12 for Kerala in the losing cause.