NAGPUR: As reported earlier by TOI, the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) will start monthly remuneration for the top 40 Indian cagers from next month.
In May this year, TOI was the first to break the news and the steering committee of BFI met in New Delhi on Saturday and finalised a list of 40 players in the senior men and women category for a monthly remuneration of Rs 75,000 each.
In the preliminary phase of the remuneration, the 20 men and as many women cagers will get Rs 75,000 every month for a year, where a total of 3.6 crore will be distributed.
BFI president Aadhav Arjuna said, “As we aim to elevate basketball to new heights in India, the BFI announces a pioneering programme to support our talented players and reinforce our commitment to their welfare. As part of this groundbreaking initiative, starting this Diwali 2024, the top 20 Category ‘A’ basketball players, both men and women, will receive a monthly remuneration of 75,000. This significant investment of 3.6 crore annually is a testament to our commitment to empowering our players and raising the bar for Indian basketball. In addition to player remuneration, we will be investing in referees and coaches to raise the overall standard of the sport.”
The 40 players for Category A were chosen based on their previous national and international performance in the last four years. In addition, the BFI has planned to provide structured remuneration for players in Category ‘B’ and ‘C’, who will be selected from the upcoming National Championships.
The Selection Committee, in consultation with head coach Scott Flemming, will analyse and review player performance. Based on these evaluations, players may be promoted to a higher category or demoted to a lower one, informed Arjuna.
Category-A Indian Players
Men: Aravind Annadurai, Vishesh Bhaiguvanshi, Amritpal Singh, Amjyot Singh, Palpreet Singh, Muin Bek Hafeez, M Arvind Kumar, Sahaij Pratap Singh Sekhon, Princepal Singh, Pranav Prince, Prashant Singh Rawat, P Baladaneshwar, Harsh Dagar, Kushal Singh, Amarendra Nayak, Kanwar Gurbaz Singh Sandhu, Vaisakh K Manoj, Piyush Meena, Pratyanshu Tomar, M Lokeshwaran.
Women: Aneesha Cleetus, Harshitha KB, Pupshpa Senthil Kumar, T Darshini, Poonam Chaturvedi, M Nishanthi, Nima Doma, Kavitha Jose, Sreekala Rani, Vaishnavi Yadav, Sanjana Ramesh, Kavya Singla, Manmeet Kaur, Anumaria, Sruthy R, Sathya K, Siya Deodhar, Rashi Florentina, Ishika Choudhary.