ULAANBAATAR (Mongolia) - A fixture in every sense of the term.
That's how India should be described within the FIBA U16 Asia Cup context, as the team from South Asia is headed to the biennial youth continental competition for the eighth time in as many editions.
Yes, the program has been competing since the 2009 inaugurals, and will soon be playing in the 2025 festivities following a mighty conquest of the FIBA U16 Asia Cup SABA Qualifiers last June 12-15 in Male, Maldives.
They won all of their four games, including a 94-62 beatdown of Sri Lanka in the Final to cap off a dominant sweep - and, of course, secure their spot into the August 31-September 7 showpiece in the Mongolian capital.
Plenty of heroes delivered so well for the young Indian team, with Rathee Shikhar showing the way in the championship bout with 24 points and 7 assists as he was one of their more consistent cogs in the tilt.
In fact, he finished the tourney with per-game averages of 21.25 points, 6.75 rebounds, 6.25 assists, and 6.0 steals, including 12 in their 117-29 victory over Bangladesh in which he also had 26 points and 9 rebounds.
There were also the likes of Mohammed Sani Gauri, Ansh Tomer, and Mohammad Raza Khan, who erupted for 38 big points alongside 10 rebounds and 6 assists in their 111-79 over Sri Lanka during the preliminaries.
Most likely, these names would comprise the 12-man lineup bound for Ulaanbaatar, carrying on their shoulders a country's hopes of finally getting over the hump after falling short in their seven previous campaigns.
India's best finish in the event was at fifth in 2022, when a team led by Kushal Singh and current men's team mainstay Harsh Dagar made it to the Quarter-Finals for the first-time ever and finished with a 5-2 card.
Still, they missed out on reaching the Semi-Finals for a breakthrough FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup appearance, and it didn't help that the program took a step back when they ended up at ninth during the 2023 games.
But another opportunity lies ahead and this squad, no doubt, would want to make the most out of it - no matter how difficult the journey could get specifically in the Group Phase, where they are situated in Group A.
There, they are pooled with defending three-time champions Australia, WABA champions Lebanon, and GBA representatives Bahrain. To know more about their upcoming FIBA U16 Asia Cup 2025 campaign, click here.
FIBA