FIBA Olympic Asia Pre-Qualifying Tournament: India's Olympic dream in trouble as they lose to Kazakhstan by 70-73
After a dream start to the Olympic Asia Pre-Qualifying tournament, India faced a heartbreak against Kazakhstan, as they lost by 70-73 on Monday.
India, who are currently in the second spot of the points table, took on Kazakhstan in a must-win match. India had a good start to the 1st quarter but Kazakhstan scored in the final moments to move to 19-16. India grabbed 20 points in the second quarter, while Kazakhstan managed 18 points.
After the first two quarters, the points stood 37-36 in favour of Kazakhstan. However, India pulled things back in the third quarter with an 18-13 finish.
In the final quarter, India was leading the proceedings until the final moments of the match. Kazakhstan moved to 23-16 in the final quarter and won the game by 73-70. India's Arvind Muthu Krishnan was the stand-out performer with 18 points.
This heartbreaking loss makes it difficult for India to qualify for the Main qualifiers as only the top team in the points table will make it to the next round. Bahrain is currently at the top of the table and is the only unbeaten team in the FIBA Olympic Asia Pre-Qualifying Tournament 2023 so far.
FIBA Olympic Asia Pre-Qualifying tournament results on Day 3
Saudi Arabia grabbed their first win of the tournament as they defeated Indonesia by 86-72. Indonesia began the match with a 23-20 lead after 1st quarter. However, Saudi Arabia pulled things back in the second quarter to lead by 43-38.
The middle-east based country went on to take the next two quarters by 24-19, 19-15 to win the match convincingly. They move to the third position in the points table of the FIBA Olympic Asia Pre-Qualifying tournament.
The table-toppers Bahrain continues to dominate the tournament as they thrashed Syria by 91-60. The hosts had no answers for Bahrain as they ended the match with 19-13, 25-14, 21-17, 26-16.
Bahrain is at the top of the table with six points. They have a point difference of +83. India is in the 2nd position with five points and with a point difference of +24.
India will meet Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. They need a big victory against Saudi Arabia, while Bahrain must lose to Indonesia by a huge margin, as only the top team from the FIBA Olympic Asia Pre-Qualifying tournament will make it to the next round.