Taking India’s basketball dream to the Asian Games, referee Rakesh will make his Asian debut, though no Indian team will take to the court

CHENNAI: While India has no basketball team at the Asian Games, R Rakesh is the country’s sole representative in the sport as a referee. The Aichi-Nagoya Games will be its debut at the Asian Games, Karnataka has previously appeared at the Asian Championships.The 36-year-old player became a FIBA ​​referee at the age of 23 and has a wealth of experience spanning more than a decade. “So far (in the current edition), I have officiated almost every day. Last year in the Asian Championship in China, I officiated until the semi-finals. Since it was my first edition, I couldn’t progress further. There were many ups and downs in my journey. In some tournaments, I will officiate in the finals, but in some I will not even make it to the semi-finals, and that is even the semi-finals in sports.” Rakesh told TOI from Japan.Rakesh, currently India’s only umpire at the elite level, said the lack of monetary perks is one of the reasons for India’s lack of quality officials. “How long can an umpire manage to officiate matches without much financial gain? Passion can only push a person to a certain point. Why do people prefer cricket? Is it because of monetary benefits. We need to have leagues, more international matches in India and popularize the sport… In the beginning I also struggled and did only domestic matches. But sometimes the tournaments were canceled due to lack of sponsors during rainy seasons and sometimes I would cancel. to officiate regularly.” added Rakesh.Rakesh has officiated in several leagues across Asia, including the Philippines, Lebanon, Syria and Indonesia. He has also been officiating in the Maldives League for the past 10 years. In 2018, he got the opportunity to manage the NBA Junior World Championship in Miami.