Basketball stalwarts R Rajan and SR Bharath call for entertainment in the sport to boost the local circuit which has witnessed a drastic drop in tournaments
Nandini Kumar. Bangalore
Speak of the basketball circuit in the Eighties and one would immediately be reminded of the high-intensity matches played during the All India tournaments organized by ITI and BEL. With club rivalry at its peak, more than 30 All India tournaments being hosted by various clubs and private sector companies every year, players had plenty of opportunities to showcase their talent in front of home crowds. But over the years, the sport has seen a drastic drop in the number of tournaments held every year.
The State Association Cup and the State Division League organised by the Karnataka State Basketball Association are the only two tournaments that are held every year. Apart from that, city clubs like Jayanagar Sports Club (JSC), Beagles and Merchants (in Davanagere) organise state inter-club matches but fail to host them regularly. "We hardly get to play club-level tournaments. Since I am doing my Post Graduation, I get to play quite a few All India inter-collegiate tournaments, but apart from that there is hardly any action on the local circuit," said Kaushal Ravi Kumar, a 23-year-old senior state player who recently received an award from the Karnataka Olympic Association.
Though the sport remains popular among school and college students, the lack of tournaments is slowly killing the sport. "Earlier we used to play more than 30 tournaments in a year. Though there are many tournaments for school and college players, there are few state Open tournaments. There are some really good players in the state but where can they showcase their talent if they don't get to play often?" asks R Rajan, former India captain.
Private organisations and banks are not recruiting players at the rate which they used to in the 80s and 90s, says Rajan, and that has added to the drop in the players remaining in the sport after finishing college. "We had at least 20-30 organisations recruiting players every year but and now that has down to hardly 10 per cent. If a player didn't qualify for the state or national team he would at least be assured of playing for his company but it is not the case now," added Rajan who played for India from 1982-96 and serves as the secretary of sports in Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL).
SR Bharath, former vice president of the state association, agrees: "When we used to play basketball, the circuit in districts too used to be very active. We had tournaments in Hassan, Gauribidnur and Davangere which used to give a platform for rural players to showcase their talent but today events like these have drastically reduced," says the former state captain.
Bharath, whose daughter Nitya is an international badminton player, added that unless a private organisation comes up with a tournament the association cannot do much in terms of support. The lack of sponsorship continues to be an issue for organisers. "Though there is talent in abundance, the organisers seem to be losing passion. They should not get frustrated due to lack of funds or support," he said. "We also must bring entertainment in sport, much like what KPL or IPL has done to cricket. This will certainly help bring in more spectators and most importantly sponsors," Bharath added.



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