Palpreet Singh lashes out at BFI ban

Palpreet Singh believes BFI is targetting him unfairly, while denying the charges he has been accused of

Palpreet will ply his trade in the Professional leagues which is outside the purview of the BFI

Basketball player Palpreet Singh has hit out at Basketball Federation of India’s (BFI) decision to ban him for a year.

Power forward Palpreet and Indian international Amjyot Singh were banned on the grounds of “gross indiscipline” . BFI secretary general, Chander Mukhi Sharma, explained that Palpreet was handed the ban for a derogatory post made on social media, a charge that Palpreet denies.

The post in question was a picture of Palpreet and fellow hoopster Gurvinder Singh holding alcoholic beverages, captioned with a derogatory comment about the national basketball team.

“At the time, I was dropped from the national team. But the picture was taken by Gurvinder on his phone, and it was Gurvinder who uploaded the photo on his own social media account. How is this my fault? I had nothing to do with it. BFI has targetted me unfairly,” Palpreet, who was picked in the 2016 NBA G-League draft, told The Hindu on
Thursday.

Incidentally, Gurpreet was not sanctioned by the BFI. Amjyot, meanwhile, was banned for getting into an altercation with a team-mate during an national team training session at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

'Better to play in the professional leagues'

A disillusioned Palpreet added that he would ply his trade in professional leagues, which is outside the purview of the BFI ban. “Mentally, I feel crushed. I feel it is better to play in professional leagues. Right now, I’m getting ready for the 3BL-3x3 Pro Basketball League. I have also received a trial offer in Australia’s National Basketball League. I’m hoping to find a spot in the Japanese professional circuit too,” Palpreet said.