BENGALURU: China is a giant in Asian basketball. Their men’s team has won eight gold medals in the Asian Games while their women’s team has won six gold. They have also dominated the Asia Cup, the men winning it 16 times and the women 11 times.
Their dominance has not only been limited to the senior level. Even their age-group teams have been extremely successful. For instance, China’s boys and girls have won the U-18 Asian Championships 11 and 15 times respectively. The kind of consistency that China have shown at continental events has not been achieved overnight. It has come through a strong grassroots programme and an emphasis on age-group basketball.
Eventually, it is these players, who shine at the age-group level, who climb the ladder and go onto represent the senior national team. Former China player, Xuedi Cong, who is the current coach of the U-18 women’s team, reaffirmed this theory.
“The grassroots is the foundation of the basketball pyramid in China. We select young players, search for young talent through junior development programmes. We also focus on basketball at the school level. In our team (women’s U-18), we have a few high school players as well. We have a wider range of selection. We pick players from the school level.”
Like all sports in China, kids from a very small age begin to play various games and they take it seriously. They also have nation-wide matches in basketball, where kids under six and eight play. Also, there is a top-notch championship in various age groups, where talented youngsters can be spotted.
“We have various kinds of national competitions, U-15, U-17 and U-19 championships every year, apart from the school championships. From these, we can find quality young players,” added Cong. However, China has not been able to translate their success on the global stage. Their best Olympic finish in the men’s section has been eighth while their women won bronze in 1984 and silver in 1992. It is the United States of America who dominate at the world level with 15 Olympic gold medals in the men’s section and eight in the women’s section. “USA is the king of world basketball. Their basketball philosophies are quite advanced. I think, not only China, a lot of other countries want to lessen the gap. It is also our goal,” concluded a smiling Cong.
China have won both games in the competition, defeating Malaysia 102-28 and New Zealand 67-58. Considering their brilliant record in the competition, they would not be satisfied with anything other than a title win.
ashimsunam@newindianexpress.com