Former Andhra Pradesh hoopster Ravikanth Gali breathes his last on YMCA court

HYDERABAD: Thursday was a sad day for the basketball fraternity of the city as former Andhra Pradesh and State Bank of India (Hyderabad circle) basketball player Gali Ravikanth breathed his last after suffering a massive cardiac arrest while ‘warming up’ at the YMCA Secunderabad basketball court.


The ever smiling and affable Ravikanth was a regular at the YMCA as he used to undergo his fitness regime and work on his younger son Samuel Gali’s game. As usual, Ravikanth was at the YMCA court in the evening but collapsed into the hands of his son while warming up. He revived a bit after receiving CPR from a doctor who was at the ground and was rushed to Yashoda Hospital across the road but, unfortunately, he could not survive. The funeral is likely to be held on Saturday.

Ravikanth, who started his career at Guntur under the tutelage of Mohd Shamshuddin, represented the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh State junior team which won medals at the national championships. The legendary GM Sampath Kumar identified the youngster’s talent and took him under his wings. Ravikanth joined the AP Sports Hostel at Hyderabad and was there from 1986 to 1989. He continued to represent AP in the senior section and joined State Bank of India. Playing along with international hoopsters Mohd Rizwan, B Harikrishna Prasad, G Chenna Reddy and L C Umakanth, Ravikanth made the SBI Hyderabad Circle one of the renowned teams in the country.

Ravikanth was selected for Rest of India men team which won the silver medal at the Pre-Asian Championships and was unfortunate not to represent Junior India as the team was not cleared.

Ravikanth, who was 56 years old, was a deputy manager with the State Bank of India and is survived by his wife, a daughter and two sons - the youngest being Samuel who represents YMCA Secunderabad in the local basketball tournaments, and has also been a regular with the Telangana men’s team.


State Bank of India teammates and Telangana Basketball Association, including TBA secretary Norman Isaac, condoled the passing away of Ravikanth. As a mark of respect, a two-minute silence was observed at YMCA Secunderabad on Friday at the start of a 3x3 basketball tournament.

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