Patna: The 72nd Senior National East Zone (Men and Women) Basketball Championships will be held here at Patliputra Sports Complex from October 14 to October 17. The tournament is being organised under the aegis of Basketball Federation of India and will be organised by Basketball Association of Bihar. This information was given by Organising secretary Vinay Kumar at a press conference here on Thursday.
He said that more than 300 players and teams of Andaman and Nicobar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Odisha and Jharkhand, including Bihar will participate in this tournament. Many national and international players will participate in the championships. The highlights of the championships will be Arjuna Awardee Vishesh Bhriguvanshi along with several international coaches and referees.
He said that the match of men’s section of the championships will be played on league cum knockout basis and women’s match will be played on league basis. The accommodation and food arrangements of the players have been made in the hostels of the sports complex itself. A committee has been constituted for the successful conduct of the tournament.
He said that the inauguration of the tournament will be held on October 14 at 4 pm, while the closing cum prize distribution will be completed at 4 pm on October 17. Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav has been invited to inaugurate the tournament. Bihar art, culture and youth welfare department minister Jitendra Rai, Bihar water resources minister Sanjay Jha and Bihar agriculture minister Kumar Sarvjeet will be the special guests.
Dr Ranjit Kumar Singh, president of Basketball Association of Bihar, director Panchayati Raj department, Government of Bihar, director general of Bihar State Sports Authority, Raveendran Sankaran, vice president of Basketball Federation of India Ashok Sahu and RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari will be the other distinguished guests at the opening function.
Rekha Kumari, director of The Organo Resort, the main sponsor of the tournament, said that a cultural programme will also be organised to entertain the guest players.
