After starting with two victories, India suffered its second consecutive loss with a score of 75-92. On Thursday, the Indian basketball team will play its final game against Bahrain.
The FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament Asia 2023 in Damascus, Syria, saw the Indian men’s basketball team lose 75-92 against Saudi Arabia.
India had already lost once in the tournament before this. India beat Syria and Indonesia on the road to start their season after losing to Kazakhstan by 3 points.
The winner of the six-team FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament Asia 2023 advances to the next stage.
Ranking 68th After two losses and a win, the Saudis evenly played the hot-shooting Indian basketball team in the first two minutes.
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After a 6-6 draw, Saudi Arabia’s clinical shooting scored 13 straight points, leaving India stunned for five minutes.
India’s second quarter performance was even poorer than the first, when they trailed 14–27. India was unable to keep up with Saudi Arabia’s ferocity, and the gap widen to 22 points.
Saudi Arabia had built up a 31-point advantage by the middle of the third quarter. Pranav Prince scored 14 consecutive points for India as they closed the gap to 17 points. At the end of the third quarter, the score was 70-50, leaving India with a huge deficit to overcome.
Even in the final period, India topped Saudi Arabia in scoring, 25-22. India, however, was unable to recoup its early losses.
In the Asian portion of the Olympic basketball qualifications for the Paris 2024 Games, six teams are competing. India, Bahrain, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and Syria.
On Thursday, India will take on Bahrain, currently ranked 84th in the world. Bahrain, the tournament’s second-lowest-ranked team, has yet impressed with their play, posting victories over Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, and Syria.
