New Delhi: India will take on defending champions Japan in their opening contest of the 3rd FIBA Asia U16 Championship for Women in Colombo on Saturday.
Based on their finish in the 2nd edition of the championship, the Indian girls are placed in Level I group alongside China, Korea, Japan, Malaysia and Chinese Taipei.
The Indian team has prepared well for the tournament, and underwent a training-cum-preparation camp in Dongguan, China from November 13-21.
Head coach T D Biju along with coach Abhay Chavan will be leading the contingent to Sri Lanka under the guidance of senior women coach Francisco Garcia.
After Japan, India plays China on November 24 and Malaysia (Nov 25), Chinese Taipei (Nov 26) and Korea (Nov 27) in the preliminary round.
"Our players are in good shape. The team has been undergoing a vigorous training programme under the guidance of foreign coach Francisco Garcia and Indian U16 coaches for over two months. They have shown tremendous improvement on the court during their exposure trip to China. We have worked on our team strategy with impetus on our defence," Chavan said.
Squad: Vandana Arya (Chhattisgarh), Vimmy Varkey (Kerala), Riya Verma (Chhattisgarh), Bhandavya H M (Karnataka), Lopamudra Thimmaiah K (Karnataka), Aneeta P V (Kerala), Gagandeep Kaur (Punjab), Sakshi Pandey (Madhya Pradesh), Mayukha K T (Kerala), Mugdha Amraotkar (Maharashtra), V Srividhya (Tamil Nadu) and M G Shinu (Tamil Nadu).
