Teenager Achintya Krishna has emerged as the only player from Karnataka to be selected to join the NBA Academy in the National Capital Region (NCR). The basketball training facility, which is set to begin operations in April or May this year, is an effort by the NBA to develop young talent in the country.
Krishna was part of the 4,500-odd hopefuls (in the 14-18 age-group) who attended the first round of trials, held across six cities. The 14-year-old took out the competition to make it to the final list of 21 hoopsters. This elite group will reside at the academy campus, as part of a full scholarship deal provided by the NBA. The expenses involved in boarding, training, food and academics will be borne by the NBA.
Krishna, a point-guard, was the Karnataka captain in the 43rd sub-junior national basketball championship held last year. “I am very excited. I want to train hard and improve my game, and play for the Indian senior team one day,” Krishna, a student of Brigade School (J.P. Nagar) here said. He cited San Antonio Spurs star Kawhi Leonard as his favourite player. Krishna will now shift to a school near the academy in NCR.
His mother, Roopa, stated, “At first, his father and I were skeptical about him moving out of home at such a young age. But when we got to know about the facilities and the structure provided at the academy, we were impressed. Krishna is very passionate about basketball. He only took up the sport a couple of years ago, so his progress has been fantastic. Krishna has been helped along tremendously by Beagles BC Secretary, Mohan Kumar, his school coach Markesh Ranjan, and Karnataka under-13 coach S.K. Pramod."
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