BHUBANESWAR 08-Sep-2013 777
Chhattisgarh women and Delhi men emerged champions in the 64th Junior National Basketball Championship, which concluded here at JN Indoor Stadium here today. Chhattisgarh eves retained the title, defeating Kerala 79-68 in the summit clash.
Poonam Chaturvedi, the tallest female cager of the country with a height of 6 ft 7 inches, starred in the Chhattisgarh victory, scoring 43 points. She also emerged the top scorer in the championship with a total of 321 points from in seven games.
In the hard-fought men`s final, Delhi overcame a spirited challenge of Punjab to win 89-82. Tamil Nadu boys and Maharashtra girls finished third, beating Kerala and Tamil Nadu respectively.
Justice Indrajit Mohanty of Odisha High Court handed over the trophies at the closing function. Basketball Federation of India president R S Gill, State I T Secretary Madhusudan Padhi, Tata Steel vice-president Arun Mishra and host Odisha Basketball Association secretary Ashok Kumar Sahu were present on the occasion. The eight-day championship, involving 23 boys and as many girls teams, was earlier inaugurated by Odisha Governor Dr S C Jamir.
