FIBA-WBLA ബാസ്ക്കറ്റ്ബോൾ ടൂർണമെന്റിൽ ഇന്ത്യൻ റെയിൽവേസ് ടീം ആറാം സ്ഥാനത്ത് ഫിനിഷ് ചെയ്തു. തുടർച്ചയായ തോൽവികൾക്ക് ശേഷം, ടീമിന്റെ നിലവാരം ഉയർത്താൻ കൂടുതൽ വിദേശ പര്യടനങ്ങളും പരിശീലന മത്സരങ്ങളും അത്യാവശ്യമാണെന്ന് പരിശീലകർ ആവശ്യപ്പെടുന്നു. ഏഷ്യൻ തലത്തിൽ മികച്ച പ്രകടനം കാഴ്ചവെക്കാൻ അണ്ടർ 16, 18 വിഭാഗങ്ങളിൽ കൂടുതൽ ശ്രദ്ധ കേന്ദ്രീകരിക്കണമെന്നും അവർ ചൂണ്ടിക്കാട്ടി.
Indian Railways started with energy and intensity in the first quarter of its displays at the FIBA-Women's Basketball League Asia (WBLA), but ran out of steam as the matches progressed.
Indian Railways suffered its third successive defeat in the FIBA-Women's Basketball League Asia (WBLA) at the Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium here on Saturday, going down 86-56 to Akari Sparks (Philippines) to finish sixth and last.
As in its previous two outings, Railways started with energy and intensity in the first quarter, only to lose steam in the subsequent periods. In fact, Railways produced its best basketball in the opening quarter, defending well and shooting efficiently to trail by just six points (15-21).
As the game progressed, however, its familiar weaknesses resurfaced. Mispasses, poor shooting from inside and beyond the arc, a drop in pace and execution, and lack of coordination took their toll. Sparks increased the lead with every quarter: 42-30 in second, 72-42 in third and 86-56 in final.
However, Railways did better than Sparks in second chance points: 11-9 but lagged behind in all other aspects such as points from turnovers (17-27), points in the paint (16-36), fast break points (15-21) and fast break points from turnovers (11-13) and bench points (22-25).
"I heard that Denso Iris (Japan) plays lot more tournaments. I want to tell our National Federation (Basketball Federation of India) is we have to just not focus on the Asia Cup. We have to go for lots of invitation tournaments, exposure trips, especially in the under 16 and under 18 categories. Then only we can improve," she said at the post-match press conference.
To the question of Railways not been able to get the second foreign player, Anitha said, "One foreign player might have made a lot of difference. If I had got one good shooter or a centre, we would have got that confidence because our girls were feeling that if we had got get one player, we could have challenged them (the other teams).
Railways' shooting guard Rashi Khotani said women can do better if given more exposure trips. "The amount of exposure they (Indian men) are getting, if we get the same, I think we can play better than them," she said.
Railways' captain Pushpa Senthil Kumar, said it's an honour to lead the side. "If we have more exposur trips, it will definitely benefit us," she said.