73rd Sr National Basketball Championships (Men & Women) conclude at Ludhiana with great fanfare

Ludhiana, December 12, 2023: The eight days gala basketball games bonanza at 73rd Senior National Basketball Championship (Men and Women) culminated recently, marking the end of a thrilling intense competition that captivated fans . The event witnessed unprecedented benchmarks in the history of Indian basketball as a record number of 64 teams from all over India enthusiastically participated in the championship, resulting in over 200 matches played, showcasing the remarkable growth and popularity of the sport.

In the Men's category, Tamil Nadu emerged victorious, securing the gold medal, while Indian Railways claimed the silver, and host Punjab earned the bronze. The matches were characterized by intense battles and impressive displays of skill, keeping the crowd on the edge of their seats. The Indian Railways Women clinching the gold with Kerala securing the second position, and Tamil Nadu earning the bronze. The closing ceremony was presided over by Arpit Shukla IPS, Special DGP(Law and Order).  He appreciated organisers for a spectacle of basketball sports at Ludhiana and thanked BFI for giving the tournament to Punjab. The President of Punjab Basketball Association, RS Gill, Aadhav Arjuna, Kulwinder Gill President and Secretary general of Basketball Federation of India were present on the occasion of distribution of trophies and medals to the winners.BFI was all praise for the untiring efforts  of Mukhwinder Singh Bhullar, SSP & VP , Yurinder Singh Hayer IPS Retd &Sr VP of PBA and  Teja Singh Dhaliwal Gen Sec PBA who all coordinated well with their team of executives. Teja Singh Dhaliwal thanked the visitors.  

The special attraction of the games venue was a selfie point at “Say Yes To Sports- Signature Campaign Wall ”. Youth were excited to put their signatures. This was the brainchild of Mukhwinder Bhullar  and  Ludhiana Distt, Basketball Association. The chief guest also released a colourful souvenir magazine  of the games which were prepared by PBA at the occasion for the visitors.   

Results by BFI: 

Indian railway women retained the National Title defeating Kerala ((80-50) while Tamil Nadau Men defeated Indian Railways  (72-67) to won the title of the 73rd Senior National Basketball Championship here in Guru Nank Stadium in Ludhiana
In Men Final after leading 42-35 at the interval Tamil Nadu beat Indian railways 72-67  Baldhaneswar was the Leading scorer with 17 points  and for Indian Railways scored 23 points
In women Indian railways defeated  Kerala 80-50, even though  Kerala could not make use of the  good  start of 21-12  they got in the first quarter, where t railway came back strongly in the 2nd Quarter  through 7ft Poonamchurvedi along with Pushpa Senthil Kumar Put railway back in to the track leading 40-35 at the half time before winning comfortably at 80-50   
Bronze for Tamil Nadu women and Punjab men
Tamil Nadu women defeated Karnataka  (65-54)  while Punjab Men beat Delhi (71-65) to take the bronze
The winners carried  a Prize money of 5 lacs and runner up with 3 lac and Bronze medallist carried 2 lacs
Baldhaneswar  of Tamil Nadu and Poonam Chathurvedi from Indian Railways were selected  as the Most Valuable Player of the Championship both of them will get an Car
Detailed Scores
Women Final
Indian railway- 80( Poonam Churvedi23,Pushpa Senthil Kumar15,Gulabsha Ali11,Sruthi Aravind10) bt Kerala-50(Aneesha Cleetus15,Susan Dloranteena10,Sreekala r10)
Men Final
Tamil Nadu-72(Baldhaneswar17,Pranav Pirince11,Jeevanathan11,Aravind Kumar10) bt Indian Raikways-67(Palpreeth Sing23,Sahil Kalyan13,Manik13)(19-8.23-17,23-20,7-12)
Indian railway- 80( Poonam Churvedi23,Pushpa Senthil Kumar15,Gulabsha Ali11,Sruthi Aravind10) bt Kerala-50(Aneesha Cleetus15,Susan Dloranteena10,Sreekala r10)(12-21,23-14,15-5,25-10) 
 
Bronze Medal Match
Women
Tamil Nadu-65(K Sathya21,Dofhana12,Harima Sundari10) bt Karnataka-54(Varsha nandini22) 
Men
Punjab -71(Nawaz Singh19,Kanwar Gurbaj Singh18, bt Delhi-65(Vishesh Brighuvanshi19,Vishal Kumar Gupta15,Shubham Tomar11,Joginder Singh10)