Nagpur: Basketball player Gunjan Mantri of Nagpur played her heart out, tried all the tricks with an injured ankle but failed to take India past Kyrgyzstan in the FIBA 3×3 U18 World Cup at Debrecen, Hungary, late on Wednesday night.
In a thrilling last league game, India went down fighting against third seed Kyrgyzstan 19-21 to conclude their maiden World Cup campaign with a heartbreaking defeat.
With Nagpur’s Gunjan in full flow, the Indian girls got the momentum and were on course for their first victory. At the halfway mark, with 5.31 minutes remaining on the clock, Gunjan suffered an ankle injury while attempting and converting a two-pointer from the centre.
On her follow-through after taking the attempt, a Kyrgyzstan defender brought her foot close to Gunjan’s landing position, and the Nagpur forward twisted her ankle. Her other three teammates lifted Gunjan out of the court. At this stage, India was leading 10-5. Gunvi Agrawal replaced Gunjan on the court, the Indian girls slowly started coming under foul trouble.
Of the 10 points that India scored on a rebound, Gunjan netted six baskets. After scoring India’s first basket, Gunjan was at her best and chipped in with a couple of two-pointers, giving India a five-point advantage.
With Gunjan out, it became a bit difficult for India’s two lanky guards, Aanaya Bhavsar and Aahana George, to keep the Kyrgyzstan forwards in check. In that process, both Aanaya and Aahana committed a handful of fouls, and India came under trouble. As per the FIBA 3×3 rules, after a team commits seven fouls, the opponent is awarded free throws, and Kyrgyzstan took full advantage.
With 31 seconds remaining, India committed a foul, and Kyrgyzstan took the lead for the first time (19-18) after they were awarded two free throws. In the next move, India again committed a foul, and Kyrgyzstan was awarded the free throws to stretch the lead to 20-19. With 14 seconds left, Kyrgyzstan netted the winning basket 21-19 and broke India’s heart. Aanaya top scored for India with seven points.
