Telangana girls overcome UP; Kerala and Madhya Pradesh steal the show in Pune

Madhya Pradesh boys, Telangana and Kerala girls stole the spotlight on an action-packed third day of the 41st Youth National Basketball Championship at the Chondhe Patil Sports Complex in Pimple Nilakh in Pune on Thursday.

Telangana girls turned up an inspired display with an overtime win over Uttar Pradesh 73-70 and assured themselves of retaining their position in the Elite Level 1.

Madhya Pradesh overwhelmed Punjab with a resounding 95-41 victory. Akshay Khanchi spearheaded the assault with a blistering 41-point performance, while Prashanth Singh (22 points), Anshul Singh Sikarwar (17 points), and Vivek Singh Tomar (12 points) provided exceptional offensive depth. Punjab’s resistance was led by Amrinder Mohan Singh with 20 points and Harjit Singh with 11 points.

Kerala girls displayed clinical precision to defeat Gujarat with a substantial 74-39 scoreline. Subhadra Jayakumar led the charts for Kerala with 20 points, supported by Malavika’s 10 points, while Rutviba Jadeja managed 10 points for Gujarat. This marked Kerala’s third consecutive victory, following their late-night triumph on Wednesday night against defending champions Maharashtra, whom they defeated 62-45.

With these results, Kerala join Tamil Nadu and Karnataka as the unbeaten teams in the girls’ division, while Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Rajasthan maintain perfect records in the boys’ division.

Telangana girls overcome Uttar Pradesh 73-70 to assure themselves of retaining their position in Elite Level I

Uttar Pradesh flexed their offensive depth to outpace Gujarat 89-48. Tejas Baliyan and Pawan Pachauri led the charge for UP with 21 points each, while Preran Singh Madhok added 12 and Aryan Panwar chipped in with 10. Gujarat’s Amit Sariya fought hard for his 25 points, with Madhavendra Singh Jaitawat adding 10.

Telangana girls edge Uttar Pradesh

The most competitive match of the day unfolded on where Telangana girls narrowly edged past Uttar Pradesh 73-70 in a thrilling Level 1 Pool B nail-biter.

Saanvi Kolishetty paced Telangana with 24 points and was well-supported by Charitha Sree D (18 points) and Mythri Reddy Daggula (16 points). Uttar Pradesh’s valiant chase was spearheaded by Kanishka Yadav (21 points), Priya Rana (18 points), and Harshita Chauhan (12 points).

In the Level 2 qualifying divisions, Uttarakhand boys cruised past Goa 86-29, while West Bengal registered a confident 78-60 victory over Assam. In Pool E, Chandigarh defeated Jammu & Kashmir 91-70, and Odisha edged past Andhra Pradesh 53-48. Pool F action saw Jharkhand defeat Manipur 92-61, while Chhattisgarh dominated Andaman & Nicobar 74-36.

Telangana girls go down fighting to Tamil Nadu 74-81, boys lose to Uttar Pradesh 41-70

In the girls’ Level 2, Rajasthan comfortably defeated Uttarakhand 77-40 in Pool C, and Andhra Pradesh routed Bihar 64-22 in Pool E.

Results: Level I (Elite): Boys division (Pool A): Madhya Pradesh 95 (Akshay Khanchi 41, Prashanth Singh 22, Anshul Singh Sikarwar 17, Vivek Singh Tomar 12) beat Punjab 41 (Amrinder Mohan Singh 20, Harjit Singh 11).

Pool B: Uttar Pradesh 89 (Tejas Baliyan 21, Pawan Pachauri 21, Preran Singh Madhok 12, Aryan Panwar 10) beat Gujarat 48 (Amit Sariya 25, Madhavendra Singh Jaitawat 10); Rajasthan 89 (Himanshu 29, Jay Sharma 20, Abhishek Choudhary 16, Akshay Nayak 16) beat Haryana 83 (Shivam 18, Toni 17, Rohit Rathee 11).

Girls’ division (Pool A): Kerala 74 (Subhadra Jayakumar 20, Malavika 10) beat Gujarat 39 (Rutviba Jadeja 10); Kerala 65 (Subhadra Jayakumar 17, Anna Marium Ratheesh 13, Brisa Binu 12) beat Maharashtra 45 (Siya Bhonsle 9, Dhruvi 9).

Pool B: Telangana 73 (Saanvi Kolishetty 24, Charitha Sree D 18, Mythri Reddy Daggula 16) beat Uttar Pradesh 70 (Kanishka Yadav 21, Priya Rana 18, Harshita Chauhan 12).

Level 2 (Qualifying): Boys division (Pool C): Uttarakhand beat Goa 86-29. Pool D: West Bengal beat Assam 78-60. Pool E: Chandigarh beat Jammu & Kashmir 91-70; Odisha beat Andhra Pradesh 53-48. Pool F: Jharkhand beat Manipur 92-61; Chhattisgarh beat Andaman & Nicobar 74-36.

Girls’ division (Pool C): Rajasthan beat Uttarakhand 77-40. Pool E: Andhra Pradesh beat Bihar 64-22.