It is the opening day of the Asia Women's Cup 2017, and there are some big matches scheduled for Sunday at Sree Kanteevera Stadium, Bengaluru. However, all eyes will be on India as they prepare to face Uzbekistan.
Though India are not playing in the top division (Division A) of the competition, there is a huge incentive for the team, which emerges victorious in Division B. The winner will be promoted to Division A.
India were relegated to Division B after their poor outing in 2015. Another poor performance in 2017 could be catastrophic.
Can India be promoted?
If one looks at the quality of teams in Group B, India should not have difficulty in getting the promotion.
Having said that, there is a serious need for India players to come up with some high-quality basketball to make the cut. They will be looking to start their Asia Women's Cup 2017 on a high note, against Uzbekistan, who will be eager to stun India.
Captain Anitha Pauldurai will look to inspire his team and show they deserve a place amongst the top teams in Asia.
Head coach of the women's team, Zoran Visic, wants to use India's last tournament (William Jones Cup) experience and play some aggressive basketball.
"It gave us a lot of experience, something that will help us here. Those teams, they played like men. Our girls are not too strong. So we understand the need to be more aggressive on the court," The Times of India quoted Visic as saying.
India squad: Anitha Pauldurai (captain), Anjana PG, Barkha Sonkar, Raspreet Sidhu, Grima Merlin Varghese, Anmolpreet Kaur, Navaneetha PU, Kavita Akula, Rajapriyadarshini R, Jeena Skaria, Shireen Limaye, Poonam Chaturvedi.
How to follow match
India vs Uzbekistan basketball match is scheduled for 8 pm IST. Follow the live score of the match on the official website.
