FIBA Asia Championship: India Lose to China in Quarter-finals
India entered the knockout stage of the FIBA Asia Championship for the first time since in 12 years but could not progress further. India can still finish sixth if they defeat South Korea on Friday.
The impressive run of India at the 28th FIBA Asia Championship here ended with a loss to hosts China in the quarter-finals on Thursday. (India enter FIBA Asia Championship quarter-finals)
Returning to the knockout stage after a gap of 12 years, the Indian cagers fought tooth and nail against China, one of the top sides in the continent, but ultimately fell short to lose 58-104 (15-27, 14-29, 11-19, 18-29).
India were ahead in the initial few minutes before China, led by former NBA centre Yi Jianlian, turned the tables.
For India, overall tournament top-scorer Amjyot Singh was aggressively man-marked and hence small forward Yadwinder Singh and captain Vishesh Bhriguvanshi took up most of the scoring load.
The last time the two teams faced each other was in the 5th FIBA Asia Cup in 2014, when India had stunned their opponents 65-58.
Though their run in the main competition ended with the defeat, the Indians will play two classification games, starting with the first one against Korea on Friday.
If the Indians can score an upset win over the Koreans, they can at least secure sixth place and that would be their best ever tournament ranking since 1989.