62 nd Junior National Basketball Championship For Boys and Girls starts on July 5th 2011

NEW DELHI: India's junior basketball players are all set to battle it out at the 62nd Junior National Basketball Championship  to be held at the tyagaraja indoor Stadium from July 5-12.

The championship, organised by the Basketball Fedaration of India (BFI) in association with theDelhi Basketball Association (DBA), will see 26 boys' and 25 girls' Under-18 teams contesting in the tournament.

"This is a great opportunity for basketball fans to turn their attention towards the future stars of the game in India," said Harish Sharma, the CEO of the Basketball Federation of India, on the eve of the championship.

"The current crop of junior stars, who represent states from all corners of the country, will showcase the improving talent level of young Indian basketball players," he added.

The tournament will be played in the league-cum-knockout format. Teams for both boys' and girls' divisions have been divided into two levels - Level 1 consists of two groups and Level 2 consists of four groups.

Cash prizes of up to Rs Four Lakhs will be presented to the winners and other participants of the championship.

Sports minister Ajay Maken will be the chief guest at the opening ceremony on Tuesday.

The participating teams:

Boys: Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Kerala, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Orissa, Pondicherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal.

Girls: Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Kerala, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Orissa, Pondicherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal.