Nepal Basketball Association is hosting the first-ever South Asian Women’s Basketball Championship in Kathmandu. In this context, Anil Ghimire of The Himalayan Times — media partner of the championship — talked to NeBA president Lama Tendi Sherpa. Excerpts:

How did the idea of women’s championship float?

The South Asian teams had reached Guwahati to participate in the 12th South Asian Games in February. The players were pumped up and Nepal had also made a good preparation for the regional games. We had arranged a month-long special training for the team. All of a sudden, FIBA-Asia instructed us not to take part in the tournament. And that was because of the conflict between the FIBA-Asia and Indian Basketball Association. We all were disheartened with the decision and the players were depressed as they had put in a lot of efforts for the tournament. I took the initiation and proposed the South Asian Championship. The members were ready to play and excited with the new tournament for women players.

How does the tournament help in women’s basketball?

We have taken this tournament as an opportunity for the players of the region. And for us, this is the first time we are hosting an official tournament of FIBA-Asia. The event will definitely help in the development of women’s basketball as it helps in luring young talents into the sport. Nepal’s basketball is confined to schools and colleges. This will be a stepping stone in women’s basketball as there was no platform for them to play once they finish their studies. There was a big question mark in hosting the tournament in the initial phase as we do not have proper infrastructure. We were determined to host the game with extra effort and we did it. The tournament has given a positive message to the world that Nepal is safe to travel. This will also promote women’s basketball in Nepal as well as South Asian region.

What is the current situation of basketball in Nepal?

Basketball is one of the top sports played in schools and colleges in Nepal. The sport is growing and we are doing our best in developing basketball. More than 100 tournaments are organised annually by private sector and Nepal Basketball Association has focused in training and talent hunt. We have been conducting coaching clinics and referee training to develop the game. We have a busy calendar as we participate in international tournaments regularly. The 3x3 teams, youth and senior players have been taking part in international tournaments and beach games.

What are the future plans of the association?

We want to continue with the talent hunt programmes to find new players. We have a target of reaching to 28 districts to search new talents. We want private and government association to be involved in the game. We have planned to enrich our referees and uplift the standard of coaches upto Level-2. We will try to host international tournaments and continue with the regular programmes as we are doing good to develop the game.