/>

FIBA includes India in the pre-qualifying Olympic tournament

As per the original tournament rules, India wouldn't have made the cut, having finished 8th and last in Division-A of the FIBA Women's Asia Cup basketball meet.

Published : Sep 28, 2019 21:29 IST , Bengaluru

Action during the FIBA Women's Asia Cup fixture between India and Philippines.
Action during the FIBA Women's Asia Cup fixture between India and Philippines.
lightbox-info

Action during the FIBA Women's Asia Cup fixture between India and Philippines.

In a sudden development, the international basketball federation (FIBA) has decided to include India in the FIBA Pre-Qualifying Olympic tournament.

As per the original tournament rules, India would not have made the cut, having finished eighth and last in Division-A of the FIBA Women's Asia Cup basketball tournament here. The top seven teams of Division-A, and the winner of Division-B were initially marked to make it to pre-qualifiers.

But since the Division-B tournament was not held - due to non-availability of a host – India takes a spot in the pre-qualifiers, a FIBA official stated. This decision was taken on Friday morning, shortly before India took on Philippines in the seventh-place playoff match, the official stated. FIBA did not release any information on the matter, and the development only came to light when India was included in the pre-qualifying draw ceremony held here on Saturday.

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics pre-qualifiers (Asia-Oceania) will take place from November 14 to 17. The host will be announced at a later date. The eight sides will compete for four spots at the FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying tournaments to be held next year.

India relegation status, from Division-A to Division-B of the FIBA Women's Asia Cup, is unclear. If the Division-B tournament is not held in due course, India could retain its spot in the elite Division-A for the next edition of the continental championship.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment