BHAVNAGAR (Gujarat), Saturday, 8th October 2022: Earlier this week, the 5x5 and 3x3 basketball events at the 36th National Games 2022 concluded with Telangana’s women’s team winning in both formats.
Eight teams each in the men’s and women’s section participated in the 3x3 and 5x5 sections that was held between 1st to 3rd October and 1st to 6th October respectively. Coming into these Games, Kerala women and Uttarakhand men were the defending champions, having won the 5x5 gold medals in the previous edition held in 2015.
In the women’s finals, Telangana overcame a torrid first quarter deficit of 7-23 against Tamil Nadu, winning the second and fourth quarters to seal the exciting 67-62 victory. Significantly, three Telangana players recorded double doubles, while for Tamil Nadu, only one player managed to put up more than 10 points.
In the men’s finals between Tamil Nadu and Punjab, young India point guard Arvind Kumar showcased his rising confidence with a career defining 33 points and 14 rebounds, to go along with 4 assists. Considering his height – 6ft 2’’ – his rebounding numbers were particularly eye popping. Overall, besides Kumar, four other Tamil Nadu players scored in double digits. For Punjab, it was the seasoned international duo of captain Amritpal Singh and power forward Amjyot Singh who led their team in a losing effort.
Earlier, in the 3x3 competition that debuted in this year’s National Games, Telangana women and Uttar Pradesh went the distance.
5x5 Finals Results
Women: Telangana (Pushpa S 23 pts & 12 reb, Anbarasi R 16 reb & 13 pts, Aswathy S Thambi 12 pts & 10 reb) bt Tamil Nadu (Dharshini T 18 pts, Sruthy R 13 reb) 67-62 [7-23, 24-12, 18-19, 18-8]
Men: Tamil Nadu (Arvind Kumar 33 pts, 14 reb, 4 ast) bt Punjab (Amritpal Singh 26 pts, Amjyot Singh 22 pts) 97-89 [20-16, 26-26, 22-21, 29-26]