Chennai: Relegation fear looms large over
Indians, who continued with the dismal show and went down to Thailand 67-78 for their fourth successive defeat in the 23rd
FIBA Asia Women Basketball Championship here today.
India`s defeat in the penultimate Level-I league match
means even a win over Japan tomorrow will not help much the
hosts as the two lower rung teams of the Level-I - Thailand
and India - will now to take on top-two finishers of Level-II
to avoid relegation.
Japan has won two matches - against Taipei and Thailand,
and lost to China and Korea, while Thailand registered its
first win today.
The Level-II competition is also running simultaneously,
where Malaysia and Lebanon are occupying the top-two spots and in all probability would make the play-off round.
The going was tough for India from the very beginning as
Thailand, ranked 37 in the world, began on a attacking note.
India squandered an initially 4-2 lead as Thailand soon
enlarged the lead from 14-8 to 22-19 in the first quarter.
The second quarter saw the hosts, particularly Prashanthi
Singh, wasting at least four chances.
Shiba Maggon, who didn`t play the last match, could do
little. She and Karanjit Kaur muffed several chances. Other
substitutes also failed to impress as Thailand, with a tight
zonal defence, led 39-32 during the breather.
Bureau Report
First Published: Monday, September 21, 2009, 22:19
