With Amjyot & Amritpal back, Indian cagers hope to ace Jordan challenge

BENGALURU: India’s maiden FIBA World Cup basketball journey had endured a rough start in November last year. Having failed to overcome Lebanon away, India then suffered a shocking loss to Syria at home, an all-important fixture that they needed to win.
On Friday, the senior men’s team — under new caretaker coach Rajinder Singh — will face a Herculean task when they lock horns with heavyweights Jordan in the second window of the Asian qualifiers at the Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium here.The hosts, however, will be emboldened by the presence of India’s top two stars — Amjyot Singh and Amritpal Singh.
Having missed the previous two fixtures due to his commitments with Oklahoma City Blue in NBA’s G-League, Amjyot is raring to play for India again. The 6’9” forward, voted one of Asia’s best basketball players, had exuberantly shared photos of him donning the Indian jersey on his social media accounts on Tuesday and responded warmly to the several inspiring comments of praise from his fans, one of which also included his mother, Nirmaljeet Kaur.
“I’m really excited,” the 26-year-old said on Thursday. “This is my first tournament for India after I made it to the NBA G-League. I'm there (at OKC) because of the Indian team. If they (India) call me, I have to come.”
India centre Amritpal, who missed the Syria game after having to rush to attend to his ailing father, is also hoping to make the most of a break from a hectic schedule with Sydney Kings in Australia’s National Basketball League.
Both cagers, who landed in Bengaluru a few days ago, are confident that lack of preparation with their India teammates will not be a hindrance. “I’ve been playing with these guys for some time, so it’s not an issue. I know each and every player and know what we're capable of,” Amjyot said.
NBA draftee Satnam Singh Bhamara will lead the squad and will be assisted by India regulars such as Tamil Nadu duo Aravind Annadurai and Akilan Pari, Karnataka’s Arvind Arumugam and Punjab’s Arshpreet Singh Bhullar to name a few. With ace India playmaker Vishesh Bhriguvanshi missing both ties owing to marriage commitments, veteran point guard Joginder Singh makes his return.
The team, Rajinder said, was in high spirits after having recently won silver at the 18th Asian Games 5x5 invitational tournament in Indonesia and will aim for its best show. “The fitness levels are good and the arrival of Amjyot and Amritpal makes a huge difference. We also have a bunch of youngsters too who are doing well. I have studied Jordan’s games on Youtube. They are a good team, fast on breaks and their players such as Mahmoud Abdeen, Ahmad Alhamarsheh and Mousa Alawadi play well from the outside. But we are looking at nothing less than a win,” he said.
Unbeaten Jordan, ranked 21 places above 64th-placed India, are one of the favourites to advance to the second round. Under skipper Abdeen, they showed their prowess in their feisty 87-83 win over the fancied Lebanon and will be eager to dominate the hosts.
Squad: Satnam Singh Bhamara (captain), Amjyot Singh, Amritpal Singh, Arvind Arumugam, Aravind Annadurai, Arshpreet Singh Bhullar, Akilan Pari, J Justin, P Jeevanantham, Yadwinder Singh, Joginder Singh, Ravi Bhardwaj. Coach: Rajinder Singh. Assistant coaches: GRL Prasad & H Lalding Sanga.