However, Nepal is the top-seeded team in South Asia in the newest form of basketball, largely because of the frequent 3x3 tournaments being held in the country.[break]
Despite getting only a month to train for the event, coach Bikash Shahi is still upbeat about a good performance from the team.
“3x3 basketball is different from the full court game and the players have to show their talent in it,” said Shahi.
“Nepali players are skilful and have the potential to perform well at the games,” coach Shahi added, “However, the training was inadequate and many players have been injured.”
“The main problem is that the players are participating in an international tournament for the first time,” coach Shahi said, adding, “We are unaware of the playing pattern of the foreign teams, so it will be a big challenge for us. We will also have height disadvantage.”
He said Nepali players have good speed which will help them to play a fast game. “Our main target will be to play full time against India and try to win the match against Sri Lanka. The other participating teams will be similar to our standard and we expect to defeat them.”
The Nepali squad consists of players who have been performing well at the national level.
Nayana Shakya will lead the squad that also comprises Sadina Shrestha, Sujata Rai and Deepika Upreti. Shakya has been playing basketball for the past eight years from Prime College. Shakya, along with Upreti, was a key member of the team when Prime won three national championships.
Similarly, Shrestha has won two national championship titles in her eight years of basketball career. She was a key member of RIBS and Rato Bangala during the national games.
Rai, the youngest player of the squad, has also been playing basketball for eight years. She has won the U-19 national championship and 3X3 national championship.
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