KUALA LUMPUR (Malaysia), Sunday, 16 th October 2022: The Indian U17 boys team has

won the silver medal at the FIBA 3x3 U17 Asia Cup, losing to Japan 17-21 in the finals.

The team has now qualified for the 2023 FIBA 3x3 U18 World Cup, a first since the inaugural

2011 edition, where both Indian boys and girls teams had participated.

India’s dominating run till the finals

The Indian quartet – of Harsh Dagar, Kushal Singh, Lokendra Singh and Jaideep Rathore – had

an impressive unbeaten run of four games leading into the finals. They first topped the pool

stages with double digit wins over Uzbekistan (21-7) and New Zealand (21-11), followed by

another decisive 21-9 margin against Jordan in the quarterfinals.

The semifinals saw the team come from behind in the late stages and secure a thrilling one point,

21-20 victory, over Chinese Taipei.

Japan’s hotshooting prevails

In the finals against Japan, India started off strong and was able to repeatedly score in the paint,

thanks to its size and strength. At one point India led by 4, only to see Japan regain their famed

outside shooting touch and seal the 21-17 title triumph.

For his consistent showing throughout the championship, shooting guard Harsh Dagar was

named in the All-Star trio (called ‘Team of the Tournament’).

Indian girls reach quarterfinals

Earlier in the day, the undermanned Indian U17 girls team got eliminated in the quarterfinals at

the hands of Chinese Taipei.

Featuring only three players instead of the permitted four, India had done well to reach the

knockouts, beating Turkmenistan (13-11) in their opening pool game, followed by a narrow 14-

15 loss to Singapore.

In the elimination round though, Chinese Taipei proved to be too strong an opponent,

condemning India to lopsided 4-21 loss.