PUDUCHERRY TO HOST 76TH JUNIOR NATIONAL BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP STARTING MAY 22
PUDUCHERRY TO HOST 76TH JUNIOR NATIONAL BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP STARTING MAY 22
PUDUCHERRY – The stage is officially set for the prestigious 76th Junior National Basketball Championship for Boys & Girls. The marquee event will take place at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Puducherry from 22nd to 29th May 2026.
The eight-day mega sporting event is being conducted by the Pondicherry Basketball Association under the aegis of the Basketball Federation of India (BFI).
The championship will witness intense competition among the country's finest young athletes. A total of 30 teams in the Men’s section and 25 teams in the Women’s section will vie for the ultimate crown. Tamil Nadu enters the tournament with a target on their back, status as the defending
The Kerala boys is grouped in A along with Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh , Madhya Pradesh and Delhi while the women in Group B along with Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh
The grand inauguration ceremony is scheduled to commence at 4:00 PM on 22nd , at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Puducherry. Shri N. Rangaswamy, the Honorable Chief Minister of Puducherry, will grace the occasion as the Chief Guest to formally declare the tournament open. A distinguished lineup of ministers, lawmakers, and sports administrators will attend the opening event. Prominent dignitaries include Shri Malladi Krishna Rao, Honorable Minister for the Government of Puducherry, alongside Tamil Nadu government ministers Shri Aadhav Arjuna, who also serves as the President of the Basketball Federation of India, and Shri N. Anand. They will be joined by regional sports leaders, including Shri T. Sudhagar, Director of Sports and Youth Affairs for Puducherry, and Dr. Sharath Chandra Yadav, Regional Director of the SAI Regional Centre in Trivandrum. Key administrative support is highlighted by the presence of BFI Secretary General Shri Kulvinder Singh Gill and Treasurer Shri T. Chengalraya Naidu, alongside several members of the Legislative Assembly. The ceremony will be warmly felicitated by Shri G. Ranson Thomas, President of the Pondicherry Basketball Association, and Dr. V. Ragothaman, the association's Secretary. The Basketball Federation of India and the local organizing committee cordially invite all Executive Committee members, State Presidents, and Secretaries of all State Basketball Associations, alongside the general public and members of the press, to attend the opening ceremony and support the Championship.##
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Official Groupings
Men’s Division
• Group A: Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi
• Group B: Rajasthan, Haryana, Karnataka, Chandigarh
• Group C: Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Puducherry
• Group D: Assam, Goa, Meghalaya, Telangana
• Group E: Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Manipur, Uttarakhand
• Group F: Andaman & Nicobar, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, West Bengal
Women’s Division
• Group A: Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Karnataka, Punjab, Chhattisgarh
• Group B: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan
• Group C: Madhya Pradesh, Chandigarh, Goa
• Group D: Telangana, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal
• Group E: Puducherry, Assam, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand
• Group F: Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Meghalaya, Odisha
