India was eliminated from contention for a ticket in the next round of qualifiers after losing 75-92 to Saudi Arabia in the FIBA Olympic Asia Qualifiers on Wednesday. On Thursday, India will play its last group encounter against Bahrain.
India began their Olympic qualification campaign with surprising victories over Syria and Indonesia, but have since lost two straight matches against Kazakhstan and now Saudi Arabia. Bahrain, India’s last opponent, is favoured to finish first and qualify from the Asian zone.
On Monday, India suffered a heartbreaking 70-73 loss to Kazakhstan in the FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament Asia 2023. The 82nd-ranked Indian team’s dream path to the 2024 Paris Olympics has come to an end.
With 5 points from 3 matches, India has momentarily risen to the top of the Asian zone points table, but they are sure to fall back when Bahrain plays hosts Syria later in the day.
Arvind Muthu Krishnan (18 points) led the way for India on an exciting day of action versus Kazakhstan, which is rated 65th in this Asian zone. India seized the lead against the Kazakhs at the conclusion of the third quarter, and it appeared like they would build on their victories against 72nd-ranked Syria and 85th-ranked Indonesia to make it three wins out of three.
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