After CWG basketball debacle, Satnam aims for Asian Games

Satnam Singh

Basketball player Satnam Singh, who represented India in the recently concluded Commonwealth Games, says his complete focus is now on the upcoming Asian Games in Jakarta and that his primary aim is to qualify for the event. In the CWG held in Australia, India's campaign was disappointing as they lost all the three matches to Scotland, England and Cameroon, in Pool B.

"That's (Asian Games) is my goal now. That's my focus. One of our first goals is to qualify. That said, I have only that in my mind. What I do is, I will go home, take rest because I know that for the next 5-6 months, my body will be under pressure. I have to keep focus. I have videos of my games at my home and I look to cancel my mistake," Satnam told reporters here. He was speaking on the sidelines of the launch of the 3x3 Pro Basketball League in presence of his teammate Amjyot Singh.

"I don't have any plan here with 3 on 3. Maybe, but I don't know yet, it is 50-50 but the only thing in my heart, my mind are the World Qualifiers and Asian Games. Asian Games is high level, they don't come every year. I want to improve my game because there are a lot of events in the coming year, 3 on 3 is good but it's faster. But if you have 5 on 5, you keep playing the full court and keep running. That's better for me because that's where I can improve," Satnam said. The 22-year-old, who was born in Punjab, holds the distinction of being the first Indian to be drafted in NBA, the USA' premier basketball tournament. He described the CWG experience as great.

"It was my first time in the CWG. It was a great experience. (I) met some foreign coaches and scouts. (I)"also (met) a few American and Australian players. We (India) lost 3 games but sometimes there are different situations. We tried to do our best. Everyone was doing a good job. "We trained a lot over here- every day, every week. We try our best. Sometimes, we don't have the whole team. Amjyot plays in the USA, Amratpal plays in Australia and some guy is injured...That's probably why couldn't do the best (in the CWG)," he added.

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