India will be seeking its first win against Saudi Arabia.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
The Indian men’s basketball team will look to avoid a third straight competitive defeat against Saudi Arabia when the two teams face off in the FIBA World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers Group D match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium here on Sunday.
India will also be seeking a first-ever win against the Middle East nation, having lost all six previous meetings, including its opening qualifying clash 51-75 on Thursday.
While he has often described his side as a “shooting team”, India head coach Scott Flemming conceded that a big chunk of India’s troubles in the previous game came from its offensive forays, which were well below par.
Out of 71 field goal attempts (excluding free throws), India successfully passed the ball through the rim only 19 times, while its opponent managed 28 from 56 tries.
“One of our strengths is hitting threes, but we could not throw it in the basket the other night. Hopefully, it won’t happen again, because I think if we had knocked down half of those threes, we would have been right in the game,” Flemming said.
In terms of squad composition, Flemming retained a core group of eight players that travelled for the Asia Cup to Saudi Arabia in August, while also bringing in fresher faces like Baladhaneshwar Poiyamozhi, Aravind Annadurai and veteran Amjyot Singh Gill, who is back from an injury.
Despite three teams from each of the four groups set to advance to the second round of qualifiers, India will have only two spots to fight for, after being drawn with host Qatar, which will automatically qualify irrespective of where it finishes after six matches.
Published – November 29, 2025 07:24 pm IST
