The qualifying round will be held in New Delhi from August 1-3 at the Tyagraj Sports Complex. Only one team will qualify from among the SAARC countries -- India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Srilanka, Pakistan and Bhutan. [break]
The winner of the finalist will play in the 2nd U-16 FIBA ASIA Championship to be held in Nha Trang, Vietnam between October 18-28.
Nepal´s national team has returned from India securing third position and better result is expected from the U-16 team as they have talented players. The players in the teams were selected from the talent hunt and also with the performance during the national tournament.
The players were kept for a two-month training during the talent hunt program and were kept for 21 days later. The players were trained by head coach Dinesh Nakarmi and Biku Maharjan. Saurav Shrestha who plays as the small forward will lead the team.
Narhari Gautam, Ashish Gauchan and Rajesh Maharjan are the shooting guard for the team while Ashim Shrestha and Devendra Rana are the centeral forward. Rahul Maskey, Prasanna Man Shrestha, Anish Shahi and Prasanna Kumar Pradhan are the forward for the team. Siddhartha Maharjan and Biraj Rana are the point guard of the team.
Assistant coach Biku Maharja said that they will have to work hard to win the match against India. “We can defeat other countries except India in the tournament.” “I have expected Shahi, Maharajan, Shrestha and Saurav will perform well in the tournament as they are in their best form.”
Captain Shrestha said that the match with India will be tough. “We are confident about winning the match against other team.” His team mate Ashim Shrestha has the same feelings. Ashim had earlier participated in the U-18 Championship held in India last year.
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