The Indian men’s national basketball team will look to revive its FIBA Asia Cup 2025 qualifiers campaign when it faces Qatar in the Group E match at the Nehru Indoor Stadium here on Friday.
India will come into the tie on the back of consecutive losses to Kazakhstan and Iran in the first two games of the qualifiers held in February.
It will be head coach Scott Flemming’s first real test since taking charge of the team in May for a second time, after coaching the side from 2012-15. The American coach replaced Serbian Veselin Matić at the helm.
“I wasn’t around for the former games in this tournament. So, for me, we are starting here against Qatar and then we will move forward from there,” Flemming said during a press conference.
Placed 76th in the FIBA World Ranking, India will face a lower-ranked team for the first time in the qualification rounds. Qatar, a side it last faced in 2015 in the FIBA Asian Championship, is ranked 101st.
“I have been talking to our players for several months now. Every day we practice, trying to narrow the gap with our competitors. Playing at home is great and if we reach our full potential, I like what could happen on Friday night,” he added.
During Flemming’s previous tenure, India recorded a famous win against Asian giant China in the FIBA Asia Cup 2014 and also led the team to a gold medal at the 2014 Lusofonia Games.
He said that since he took over in May, the team has undergone several camps and even completed two exposure trips to Dubai where they played against top-tier clubs.
“In 2013-14, I had a team that I thought could compete with anybody in Asia. So, it can be done and it took about a year to do that back then and this time I hope it is even less,” Flemming said.
“Everybody talks about the win against China years ago, but what I think most about it was that we were competitive with everyone. We have a lot of talent in the team now. All we need is for them to come together and create a system of play,” he added.
Flemming also announced that 28-year-old Muin Bek Hafeez will lead the side. “It is obviously a great honour for me to captain the national team, especially in my home state,” Muin told Sportstar.
Talking about the changes in the team since Flemming’s appointment, Muin said, “He (Flemming) has emphasised on our relationship off the court.”
“Most of the players are young and there is a sort of friendship and unity going on in the camp and the match against Qatar is the perfect opportunity for us to prove ourselves and how we have improved over the last few months,” he added.
India is currently last in its group with two games played, tied on two points with Qatar, which is in third place. Despite the gap between them in the rankings, Qatar has enjoyed a superior record over India, winning four of their last five meetings.
The top two teams will get direct qualification for the tournament finals in Saudi Arabia next year, while the best third-placed teams from each of the six groups will take part in another qualifying round for the final four spots.
Flemming said that he and his players know they are the underdogs but added that he has a team that he believes can win.
“I only ask my players to do three things - play hard, play together and put the team above yourself,’ Flemming concluded.
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