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Vibrant Start to 42nd Kerala State Youth Basketball Championship in Kanhangad
KANHANGAD – May 6, 2026 – The 42nd Kerala State Youth Basketball Championship for Boys & Girls tipped off with a spectacular opening ceremony today, transforming Kanhangad into the basketball hub of the state. Organized by the Kasargod District Basketball Association under the aegis of the Kerala Basketball Association (KBA) and powered by Starting Five Sports Management, the five-day extravaganza will run until May 10th.
Grand Inauguration
The championship was officially inaugurated by Shri V.V. Rameshan, Chairman of Kanhangad Municipality.at a function presided by Fr. George Punchayil (Patron, Organizing Committee).and Principal Christ CMI School,Kanhangad , who lauded the efforts to nurture grassroots talent. The ceremony featured a vibrant March Past by participating district teams 
A significant highlight of the evening was the special honouring of Shri P.J. Sunny, former Chairman of the Selection Committee of the Basketball Federation of India, for his lifelong dedication and immense contribution to Indian basketball.
The event commenced with a welcome address by Anil Bangalam (Convenor, Pre-Program Committee), followed by a detailed Championship Report from P.C. Antony (Secretary, KBA). Felicitations were offered by Mrs. Latha Balakrishnan (Vice Chairperson), Ms. Soumya Sunil (Ward Councillor).
Opening Day Highlights
Defending champions Thrissur and powerhouses Kottayam and Thiruvanthapuram  asserted their dominance on Day 1 with commanding victories across both venues—the Alamippali Mini Indoor Stadium and Christ CMI Public School.
In the Boys' category, Kottayam’s Swaroop Girish delivered a standout performance with 26 points to secure a 63-36 win over Alappuzha while the defending champion Thrissur had an easy Victory over Malappuram  (66-18)  ,Thiruvanthapuram beat Idukki ((104-34) ,Kasrgod drubbed Wayanad (61-9) and Ernakulum overcome Kozhikode (53-40)
. In the Girls' division, Thrissur fended off a spirited Malappuram side with a 61-48 victory, led by Ann Maria and Ann Theresa. Scoring 14 and 13 respectively  , Kannur beat Kasargod  (50-17) and Kottayam Drubbed Pathanamthitta (51-10) 
Detailed Results League Round 
Boys:
Kottayam 63 (Swaroop Girish 26, Aswin U P 12) bt Alappuzha 36 (Evan John 12)
Palakkad 50  (Aadhikrishna O M 15, Anuvind M 13) bt Pathanamthitta 36  (Jaiden Joseph 13)
Thrissur 66 (Abhinand Rajesh 25, Madhav Krishna 11)  bt Malappuram 18 (9Anold Jimmy 11) 
Thiruvanthapuram 104 (Vivek Vijay,Niranjan Suja 23,Joel Jose20, AldrinAnto14)  bt Idukki 34
Ernakulum 53  (Govind Menon15,Thomas Maliekal 13) bt  Kozhikode 40 (Adam G Perera 10) 
Kasargod  61 (Binil Syriac 19,Abhinav B Nair 14)
Girls:
Thrissur 61  (Ann Maria 14, Ann Theresa 13) bt Malappuram 48 (Druva K 11, Hridhika Parvati 11)
Alappuzha 52 (Subhadra Jayakumar 13, Laya Milton 13) bt Palakkad 17
Kannur  50 (Malvika 22)  bt Kasargod 17
Kottayam 51 ( Sherlin13 ,Denia Mirza 12,Salma Naurin 10 ) bt Pathanamthitta 10