Nagpur city cagers Soham, Parth for basketball nationals

NASHIK: There was something to cheer for the boys playing basketball in Nagpur while their girl counterparts were a dejected lot when the Maharashtra U-17 teams were named during the state-level championships at the Meenatai Thakre Indoor stadium on Monday.
While two of the boys, representing Nagpur division, were picked in the 12-member Maharashtra squad, girls were totally ignored by the three-member selection committee.
The two Nagpur cagers - Soham Meghe and Parth Mardikar - sealed their spot in the 12-member Maharashtra side that will participate in the U-17 school nationals.
The School Games Federation of India (SGFI) national championship for boys and girls will be played at Palimarwar in Rajasthan between October 17 and 22.
In a surprise move - probably for the first time in history - not a single girl from the division was picked to represent state. Though the girls' team of RS Mundle School, representing Nagpur division, lost in the quarterfinals to eventual champions Pune, the three-member selection committee, comprising two senior coaches and an international referee, ignored their performance. In addition, all the five girls that came for the selection trials too were ignored.
Eight of the girls that represented Nagpur in the trials included a national player Anushree Kaloti along with state cagers - Avanti Joshi, Mugdha Amraotkar, Sakshi Bhotmange, Mehak Khurana, Navpreet Khurana, Tejashree Ingole and Maithilli Pantawane. All these cagers, despite a satisfactory show, were not included while finalizing the 12-member contingent.
Teams:
Boys: Tanmay Mali, Vaishak Nambiar, Sushmit Nair (all Thane), Rushabh Nahata, Kartik Kendre, Prathamesh Shah (all Pune), Aditya Ashtekar, Dhiraj Sharma (both Nashik), Soham Meghe, Parth Mardikar (both Nagpur), Digvijay Bhosle (Kolhapur), Saurabh Thosre (Amravati). Coach: Rajesh Kshtriya (Nashik).
Girls: Shruthi Menon, Aditi Kamble, Shreya Kane, Aafi Bape, Prerna Seth (all Pune), Aditi Nikam, Kadambari Jadhav, Samruddhi Bhosle (all Kolhapur), Shravani Kulthe, Khyati Raka (both Nashik), Pallavi Pawar (Amravati), Kritika Naidu (Mumbai). Coach: Vijaya Khot (Amravati).