Indian Men's U17 3x3 Basketball Team Creates History, Qualify For The FIBA World Cup 2023

The India U17 men’s 3x3 basketball team, featuring Jaideep Rathore, Kushal Singh, Harsh Dugar, and Lokendra Singh scripted history on Sunday by earning qualification for the U18 3x3 FIBA World Cup. This is the first time since 2011 that India has qualified for the U18 3x3 FIBA World Cup. Courtesy of the feat, Team India will now play in the upcoming FIBA U18 3x3 World Cup, scheduled to be held next year.

Meanwhile, the Indian team achieved the major milestone after reaching the final of the U17 3x3 Asia Cup in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. India defeated Chinese Taipei by 21-20 in the semi-finals on Sunday and earned qualification for the coveted World Cup. The team finished second in the Asia Cup with a loss against Japan in the finals. Earlier in the tournament, India earned a 2-19 win against Jordan in the quarterfinals. 

India U17 women's team exit U17 3x3 Asia Cup with quarterfinal loss

The Indian men’s and women’s basketball team previously participated in the FIBA U18 3x3 World Cup, during the inaugural edition in 2011. That was India’s only appearance so far in across all formats and age groups of the basketball World Cup. The last time out at the World Cup, India men’s finished 29th overall, while the women finished 16th. 

Coming back to the U17 3x3 Asia Cup in Kuala Lumpur, the India women faced a 4-21 defeat at the hands of Chinese Taipei in the quarterfinals on Sunday. En-route to the quarter-final India earned a 13-11 over Turkmenistan, and lost 14-14 against Singapore in the Pool D.