Qatar’s loss is India’s gain

Nagpur: For the first time after 2004, India will host the Asia Cup U-18 men's basketball tournament from Aug 13 to 23. The 11-day tournament will be played at India's largest Veer Savarkar Sports Complex in Ahmedabad, and for the first time ever, Gujarat's capital city will host an international basketball championship.The 16-team continental event initially allotted to Qatar in July was shifted to India due to the ongoing West Asia conflict. "Due to the ongoing situation in West Asia, the World Basketball Federation (FIBA) requested India to host the Asia Cup. With Ahmedabad being the host of the 2030 Commonwealth Games, and also a confirmed bid of the 2036 Olympics, the president and secretary of Basketball Federation of India (BFI) allotted the Asia Cup to Gujarat. For the first time, an international basketball championship will happen in Ahmedabad," Shaktisinh Gohil, the president of Gujarat Basketball Association, told TOI.A month before the Asia Cup, Ahmedabad will also host the World Cup qualifiers in July for the Indian men's team.The last time India hosted an Asian championship was in 2022, when the women's meet was held in Bengaluru. While international competitions for women were a regular feature in India's calendar, the men's Asia Cup in any age category was rare for BFI. Way back in 1998 and in 2004, India hosted the U-18 men's Asia Cup in Kolkata and Bengaluru, respectively. In 2009, the U-16 Asian Championship was held in Pune, and after a long 17-year gap, the FIBA allotted the continental men's event to India.