Bokaro: After an impressive performance at the 40th Youth National Basketball Championship held in Pondicherry from April 9 to 16, the 32-member boys’ and girls’ team of the Jharkhand Basketball Association returned to a warm welcome at Tatanagar Station today.
Led by Head Coach Mohammad Arif Aftab (boys team) and Chief Coach Nizam Ali (girls team), with support from assistant coaches and managers, the team was honored in a felicitation ceremony organized by the Jharkhand Basketball Association at Kerala Public School, Kadma.
Chief Guest Sharad Chandran Nair, Director of Kerala Public School, along with noted educationist Dr. KK Ojha, social worker Mukhtar Alam Khan, Association President and former Olympian Harbhajan Singh, Secretary and international coach JP Singh, and Treasurer Pradeep Mukherjee, lauded the team’s efforts.
Top performers Sahil Kumar, Pratyush Kumar, Jitesh Kumar, and Anand Kumar received special recognition and cash rewards from the dignitaries.
Association Secretary JP Singh credited the team’s success to rigorous training during the national camp and announced plans to launch an academy in Jharkhand to provide international-level coaching to aspiring young players, with the aim of nurturing future national representatives.
