BENGALURU , OCT 29,
India huffed and puffed its way to a 73-65 victory over Iran on the opening day of the FIBA under-18 women’s Asian championship at the Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium .
Led by captain and forward Fatemah Ghazvini, who was easily the best player on display scoring 22 points, Iran came agonisingly close. With under two minutes left, India could only boast of a two-point lead (64-62). But Bengaluru girl Harshitha Bopaiah’s timely basket eased nerves before the host held on.
For India, skipper Pushpa Senthil Kumar didn’t take the field as her injured ankle hadn’t sufficiently healed. At the start, India didn’t seem to miss her too, as it was off to a brisk start, going up 23-13 in the first quarter.
However, little did anyone expect things to unfold the way they did in the second. With a combination of fast breaks and rapid turnovers, Iran staged a stirring comeback. Ghazvini was heavily involved, netting 12 points in that 10-minute period. Iran even went ahead 35-33 but a string of baskets by forwards Ishwarya Janardhanan and Sreekala Rani ensured India was ahead again at half-time (40-35). Iran kept pace with India in the third quarter as Zeinab Ghaffari and Negin Khameneh won 11 rebounds between them.
Though it lacked the drive when Ghazvini was off the court, Iran reined India in. In the final quarter, Khameneh put on a fine show of offensive game (15 points) to run India close.
