Largest, multi-city, community based Basketball League in India returns on July 30 and will offer more youth opportunity to play having expanded to four age divisions.
The Mahindra NBA Challenge, the largest, multi-city, community-based basketball league in India, is returning to Ludhiana for its second season on July 30. The programme, conducted in collaboration with the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) and the Punjab State Basketball Association, will run for eight weeks, culminating on September 18.
Mahindra NBA Challenge – Season two in Ludhiana
In order to give more youth the opportunity to participate this year, the programme has expanded to four divisions, up from three in season one: sub-junior for ages 12 to 13, youth for ages 14 to16, and junior for ages 16 to 18 and adults 19 and over. This has resulted in 120 teams registering to play in Ludhiana, up from 72 last season.
Participants in the Mahindra NBA Challenge will receive NBA-style basketball training in a fun environment and have the chance to compete against each other over the course of eight weeks at the Guru Nanak Stadium. Season two of the programme, which already visited Mumbai and Delhi starting in November 2010, has seen participation increase by 30% from the first season.
The league will culminate with a weekend-long celebration of basketball from September 16 to18 that will feature an All-Star Game, semi-finals and finals. The event will engage the community with NBA-style entertainment, musical and dance performances and oncourt basketball contests where fans can win exciting prizes.
The Mahindra NBA Challenge is also supported by adidas, who will return as the official outfitter and Spalding who will again serve as the official equipment supplier.
The inaugural Mahindra NBA Challenge, held from April 2010 to September 2010, included leagues in Mumbai, Ludhiana, and Bangalore and attracted thousands of participants, including members of India’s Men’s and Women’s National Basketball Team. For more information please visit www.facebook.com/mahindranbachallenge.
About the NBA
The NBA, founded in 1946, is a professional sports league and global business that features 30 teams in the United States and Canada. During the 2010-11 season, NBA games reached 215 countries and territories in more than 40 languages. Official NBA rosters featured 85 players from 41 countries and territories. NBA merchandise is sold in more than 125,000 stores in 100 countries on six continents. NBA.com averages more than 26 million page views per day, with more than 50 percent of the site’s visitors coming from outside of North America. The NBA is the No. 1 U.S. sports league on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, with the most fans, followers, and videos viewed on each, respectively. Through NBA Cares, the league, its teams and players have donated more than $160 million to charity, completed more than 1.7 million hours of hands-on community service, and created more than 605 places where kids and families can live, learn, or play.
About The Mahindra Group
The Mahindra Group focuses on enabling people to rise. Mahindra operates in the key industries that drive economic growth, enjoying a leadership position in tractors, utility vehicles, information technology and vacation ownership. Mahindra has a presence in the automotive industry, agribusiness, aerospace, components, consulting services, defence, energy, financial services, industrial equipment, logistics, real estate, retail, steel and two wheelers.
A US $12.5 billion multinational group based in Mumbai, India, Mahindra employs more than 119,900 people in over 100 countries.
In 2011, Mahindra featured on the Forbes Global 2000 list, a listing of the biggest and most powerful listed companies in the world. Dun & Bradstreet also ranked Mahindra at No. 1 in the automobile sector in its list of India’s Top 500 Companies. In 2010, Mahindra featured in the Credit Suisse Great Brands of Tomorrow.
Its flagship company Mahindra & Mahindra Limited is the only Indian automobile manufacturer to feature in the top 10 list of the Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index in India – 2010, created by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP).
In 2011, Mahindra acquired a majority stake in Korea’s SsangYong Motor Company.
Tags: Basketball, Basketball League, BFI, Guru Nanak Stadium, Ludhiana, Mahindra NBA Challenge, NBA
