Beirut (Lebanon), May 13 (IANS) India will host the FIBA U18 Asia Cup 2026 in Ahmedabad from August 13 to 23, 2026. The FIBA Regional Office-Asia confirmed on Wednesday that this will be the third time the country has held the continent’s premier youth basketball tournament.

Ahmedabad, one of India’s fastest-growing sports cities, will welcome 16 of the best U18 national teams from Asia and Oceania for the biennial tournament. The city is home to the world’s largest cricket stadium and will host the 2030 Commonwealth Games. It is also bidding for the 2036 Olympics, which strengthens its standing as an important international sports destination.

India hosted the tournament in Bengaluru in 2004 and Kolkata in 1998. Both events were historically significant for Asian basketball.

In 2004, Iran won the championship in Bengaluru by winning all eight of their matches, including the final against Korea. This victory was Iran’s first continental basketball title and marked the rise of Team Melli as a major force in Asian basketball.

The 1998 tournament in Kolkata is also known for the international debut of Chinese basketball legend Yao Ming. Yao led China to their sixth of their record seven titles and became one of the most influential figures in Asian basketball history.

Defending champions Australia will return to defend the title they won in Amman, Jordan, in 2024. They will be joined by New Zealand and 13 other teams that qualified from regional tournaments in Asia.

Kazakhstan was the first team to qualify after dominating the Central Asian Basketball Association (CABA) U18 Championship earlier this year.

The South Asian Basketball Association qualifiers will be in Colombo from May 25 to 29. East Asia qualifiers are set for Fukuoka, Japan, from June 2 to 7. Southeast Asian qualifiers will happen in Krabi, Thailand, from June 10 to 14, while Gulf region qualifiers will take place in Doha.

During the group stage, the 16 teams will be divided into four groups of four. The top three teams from each group will move on to the knockout phase, with group winners going directly to the quarter-finals.

This tournament is also important because the top four teams will qualify for the FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup 2027, which will be held in Pardubice, Czechia, from June 26 to July 4, 2027.

–IANS

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