540 girls begin CISCE national basketball tournament at Greater Noida school

About 540 school basketball players from 15 regions are on court at St Joseph’s School in Sector Alpha-1, Greater Noida, for the CISCE national girls’ tournament.

The three-day competition covers under-14, under-17 and under-19 categories. Arnav Kumar, CISCE’s games and sports manager, said the players had reached the national event through regional matches, and 12 would be selected for further competitions.

For Uttarakhand player Ananya Thakkar, 17, the opening match brought a win over Chhattisgarh. Thakkar, who said she has played basketball for around 10 years, said her team had started confidently.

St Joseph’s School is hosting matches across its two basketball courts. Classes were held online on the opening day, while the following two days were kept off to allow students to take part, principal Rev. Fr Jipson Palatty said.

Heavy rain interrupted matches at around 3.30pm on the first day before play resumed around 5.30pm. Organisers have set aside an additional buffer day if rain postpones more fixtures.