Indian cagers go down to Saudi Arabia

The Indian men’s basketball team’s shooting woes were at the forefront once again as it succumbed to a 57-81 loss to Saudi Arabia in their FIBA World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers Group-D match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Sunday.

Kanwar Gurbaz Singh Sandhu was the top performer for the host with 19 points while Muhammad Ali Abdur-Rahkman led Saudi’s charts with 24.

Despite head coach Scott Flemming highlighting the need to be clinical in attack ahead of the game, India lacked precision in the opposition half, scoring only 22 of 76 field goal attempts. In contrast, Saudi managed 30 off 62 to hand India its second defeat in as many games in the competition.

Both teams set off with an aggressive purpose, but it was the visitor that took an early hold on the game, with forward Ali Shubayli scoring eight points to give his side a 10-point lead after the first quarter.

Sandhu’s three-pointer from the corner, midway through the second period, momentarily lifted the spirits of the home supporters, but Saudi Arabia’s Abdur-Rahkman kept draining baskets with regularity at the other end to take the game away.

India improved ever so slightly in the second half and slowly chipped away at Saudi’s lead, with Harsh Dagar sinking a couple of baskets early in the third quarter. However, the players eventually ran out of steam, and Saudi once again reasserted its dominance, with Fahad Belal plunging a dagger three-pointer in the third quarter to extend the lead to 33 and practically put the game to bed.

The result leaves India reeling at the bottom of its group with two points with four matches left to play.

The scores: India 57 (Kanwar Gurbaz Singh Sandhu 19) lost to Saudi Arabia 81 (Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman 24, Marzouq Almuwallad 13, Ali Shubayli 10).