Ludhiana: The District Basketball Association, Ludhiana celebrated the 129th anniversary of basketball, which was started on December 21, 1891. To honour the day, Ludhiana Basketball Academy (LBA) held matches in the city’s Guru Nanak stadium.
Teja Singh Dhaliwal, general secretary of Punjab Basketball Association said James Naismith, a Canadian physical education instructor invented basket ball for his trainees to keep them hooked to physical activity so that they did not become inert in the winter chill there.
“Today, this game is played in every nook and corner of the world and is also recognised as an important sport in Olympic Games,” he added.
Also present on the occasion were Rajinder Singh, chief coach LBA, Saloni, women’s team coach, Narinder Pal, Vijay Chopra of PBA and Brij Bhushan Goyal, treasurer of LBA.
Goyal urged the players to never take recourse of stamina boosting health supplements for showing their performances in matches. He said when players are caught in dope tests, this not only mars their sporting and job career, but also earns bad name for the parents and sports bodies. Coach Rajinder Singh thanked the management of LBA and PBA for popularising the sport in every district of Punjab. He said already many players trained at LBA are drafted in NBA and are playing FIBA matches.