The Indian basketball team lost to Asian heavyweights Japan 66-77 in the first of the 5th-8th place classification games at the FIBA Asia Challenge at Tehran.
Japan took a 22-14 lead at the end of the first quarter, but India managed to hold its own in the next three periods. However, it was not enough to claim victory.
India takes on Chinese Taipei in the 7th-place playoff fixture on Sunday.
The result:
Japan 77 (Ira Brown 20, Makoto Heijima 19, Ryusei Shinoyama 12) bt India 66 (Amritpal Singh 22, Amjyot Singh 18).
