BENGALURU: The Indian men’s basketball team has been mired in controversy in recent times. While there have been reports of infighting among players, their on-court performances haven’t been up to the mark. To improve the status, the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) have roped in former Iran and Syria coach Veselin Matic.
The team lost all three matches in the Commonwealth Games last year. Women’s team coach Zoran Visic took temporary charge for the FIBA World Cup, Asian qualifiers but the results did not improve. They lost all their first round Group C games. The incoming Serbian coach had led Iran to their first ever World Championship qualification in 2010 after they won the Asian Championship in 2009, beating China in the final.
Matic has also coached Poland and Lebanon national teams in his 30-year coaching career. According to BFI, the sports ministry has already cleared his name, pending a few formalities. He is expected to take charge by the end of next month. “He is an experienced coach and someone who can improve the team while also setting the groundwork for coaches in the country. We will have regular zonal coaching camps and clinics for coaches,” BFI secretary general Chander Mukhi Sharma said.
With India’s Olympic qualification chances ruled out (as they didn’t qualify for the FIBA 2019 World Cup), Matic’s first job will be to do well in the William Jones Cup where the team is likely to participate.
Meanwhile, Visic is likely to return as the women’s team coach. Sharma stated that the Serb’s appointment was expected to be confirmed by the sports ministry soon.
Bigwigs re-elected
BFI president K Govindaraj and secretary general Chander Mukhi Sharma were unanimously re-elected at the body’s annual general meeting on Sunday. The new body promised to restructure the national championships and proposed a six-team women’s league to be conducted in the next three months.
“We have formed a new committee for the restructuring of the national meets. It will give us its proposals in the next 45 days. We will have a zone-wise competition before a final round. For the women’s league, we will have it in six cities first. We will see how it goes and then we will take a call on taking it to other cities. We will also be hosting more international tournaments in the coming days,” Govindaraj said.