INDIA
Overview
While not unpopular in the world's second most populous nation, basketball is not one of the major sports on the subcontinent. In terms of popularity Cricket is king in this part of the world. There are no professional leagues to be found in the entire country. In fact,the only permanent organized leagues of note are within the various levels of school systems (high school, university, etc...).
The most notable basketball tournaments are held on regional levels, usually by state governments. The biggest event each year is the National Basketball Championship organized by the Basketball Federation of India. The tournament is composed of all-star squads from various regions, and the powerhouse Indian Railways team. While this is not a "professional" tournament, it is unquestionably not purely amateur either.
The Indian National Team has found a modicum of success on the international stage for the first time in years. India qualified for the the Asian Games in 2010, a big achievement. While they failed to win a match in the round robin play, they were at times competitive.
The future of Indian basketball is interesting at this point as the BFI has entered into an agreement with IMG Reliance essentially handing over the reigns to guide the sport's development in India for the next 30 years. One part of this deal is the potential for the development of a pro league.
The most notable basketball tournaments are held on regional levels, usually by state governments. The biggest event each year is the National Basketball Championship organized by the Basketball Federation of India. The tournament is composed of all-star squads from various regions, and the powerhouse Indian Railways team. While this is not a "professional" tournament, it is unquestionably not purely amateur either.
The Indian National Team has found a modicum of success on the international stage for the first time in years. India qualified for the the Asian Games in 2010, a big achievement. While they failed to win a match in the round robin play, they were at times competitive.
The future of Indian basketball is interesting at this point as the BFI has entered into an agreement with IMG Reliance essentially handing over the reigns to guide the sport's development in India for the next 30 years. One part of this deal is the potential for the development of a pro league.
Sources
asia-basket.com India Page: Basic information page that focuses mostly on India's National Team.
Basketball Federation of India Website: Official website for all things basketball in India. The writer of Hoopistani does a lot of the writing for this site, so there is lots of crossover.
Hoopistani: Great personal blog maintained by a hoop fanatic. Some really interesting content about basketball at the local and national level.
SportsKeena Basketball: The basketball section of one of India's most popular sports websites. While there is a lot of NBA coverage, they do a good job of providing local updates and commentary. Some of the content may be repeated from the Hoopistani page.
