Sports
Sri Lankan hoopster joins Nepal Basketball League
Sri Lankan basketball’s hot shot Praneet Udamgalapala became the latest high-profile player from the South Asian region to join the Nepal Basketball League after the 26-year old was roped in by Times International Club.Sports Bureau
Sri Lankan basketball’s hot shot Praneet Udamgalapala became the latest high-profile player from the South Asian region to join the Nepal Basketball League after the 26-year old was roped in by Times International Club.
Udamgalapala is now a settled name in the Sri Lankan basketball after the 6ft 2in hoopster spent a season in Texas playing the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) basketball for Weslyean University where he was awarded the academic scholarship. Udamgalapala was the tournament MVP of the Sri Lanka National Basketball Championship last year.
The Sri Lankan has now become fifth hoopster from South Asia to join the Nepali league after the arrival of Bangladeshi and Indian hoopsters. Bangladeshi national team trio of Shawn Chowdhury, Mohammad Khaled Mahmud Akash and Shahinur Rahman Shojib along with Indian player Yogesh Kanderia plying their trades in the Nepali league.
The Bangladeshi trio are representing Nepal Police Club and Kanderia for Golden Gate International Club. Another Bangladeshi player Mithun Biswas is also joining the Police team. Choudhary had played for Bishal Milan Kendra in the first edition of the league. The league regulations allows each team to have a maximum of four foreign recruits with two allowed to take the court at a time.
Play for Deprived Children, the League organisers, were happy to get more foreign recruits for the tournament. “Its a great privilege for us to have more players from South Asia joining this league. This is turning out to be a good platform for the players across the region to showcase their talents. More improtantly, their presence will also help our youngsters to get enough exposure,” said Arun Karki, the PDCN President.