Cuttack, Sept. 5: Seventeen-year-olds Poonam Chaturvedi and Satnam Singh Bhamara stand heads and shoulders above their colleagues at the ongoing 64th Junior National Basketball Championship in Cuttack. Literally.

Poonam is 6’6” and Satnam, 7’1”. A number of people are coming to watch the tournament just to watch the Chhattisgarh girl and the Punjab boy play.

Satnam (picture left), who hails from a small village in Punjab, proved to be a prodigy and was selected for the national team to play in the Asia U-16 Championship in Malaysia in 2009, when he was just 13 years old. He then got selected for training at the famous IMG Basketball Academy in Bradenton, Florida, which has produced the likes of Kobe Bryant, Vince Carter and a number of other NBA stars.

At present, he is part of the senior national team.

“The training at IMG Academy has helped me a lot. I hope I can help my team win here,” said the shy youngster.

On the other hand, Poonam (picture below right) is doing well for her team in the tournament. However, she still has a lot to learn when it comes to manoeuvring the ball in the court.

“We are the defending champions. I am glad that I am playing well. Though there’s a long way to go before the finals, I will try my best to win as many points as I can,” said the centre, who is acquiring skills fast under her coach Rajesh Patel. Patel spotted her when she was 15 and brought the Kanpur girl to the Chhattisgarh team.

Cuttack is busy discussing techniques of dribbles and passes as young cagers from across the country battle it out on court to win the title for their respective states.

The tournament, which began on September 1, is under way at Barabati Stadium and Jawahar Lal Nehru Indoor Stadium courts simultaneously.

Hosted by the Odisha Basketball Association, the championship features 46 teams, 23 each for boys and girls. So far, the state boys’ team has kept hopes alive while the girls’ team failed to win any match in the league stage.

The Odisha boys’ team emerged victorious against Chandigarh and Jammu and Kashmir and topped their group. Then they beat Bengal and almost cemented their place in the quarterfinals. So, today’s loss against Haryana will not count much. The Odisha girls lost four matches against Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala and today, Punjab.

“If our boys win their Friday quarterfinal match, they will secure a berth in the semis,” said Odisha Basketball Association secretary Ashok Kumar Sahu. He added that the tournament follows a league pattern followed by knockout rounds.

“The 23 teams each for boys and girls have been divided into groups of three or four teams. After the group matches, the top teams will be selected for the knockout quarterfinals phase, which will be held on Friday. The semi-finals and finals are scheduled to be held on Saturday and Sunday,” he said.

The event has already had visitors such as the national men’s head coach Scott Flemming and national women’s head coach Francisco Garcia, who were seen observing the young talents display their flair on court.

It has been nine years since the state last hosted a national basketball championship. Local sports lovers are flocking to the two venues to watch the matches. “We are glad that our city was chosen as the venue for this national tournament. There is immense talent in all teams and that means the future of Indian basketball is definitely in safe hands,” said Ankita Das, a local basketball fan.

Pictures by Badrika Nath Das