10 years ago when basketball was still in its infant stages in India, Rajesh Patel, a man with immense determination, took a bold step and set up a basketball academy named Chhattisgarh Basketball Academy (CBA) in the steel city of Bhilai. CBA, formed in the year 2001 with a mission to groom players from the neighborhood, has served as a haven to the aspiring cagers from within the region and all across the country. The academy, which started off with a total of five students, now houses a total of 30.
“A large percentage of the players at the academy belong to humble backgrounds, coming from the families of working class or labourers. The academy distinctively tracks down the talented lots who face barriers of financial constraints. Right now the academy is home to 20 girls and 10 boys and there are about 160-170 players who come from the nearby areas and train in the academy. For the first two months the players are included on the troop on a trial basis and their performances are monitored well so as to decide their stay in the academy,” says Patel, a former basketball player who assures to assist the youngsters who want a ball in hand and hoops to aim at. 
“We at CBA believe that with minimum number of players we can give maximum result. The younger ones are preferred because I personally believe that the growth of basketball in India lies in the development of the grass-root level. We don’t seek to form crowds at our centre. Only the deserving candidates and the have-nots should get a chance,” says the 5 feet 6 inches coach who could not play for the Indian Team due to his height, adding that he never narrowed down his vision and he has been working for three decades to develop basketball in India at the grass-root level.
Chhattisgarh Basketball has maintained an outstanding record so far. The boys and the girl’s teams play around 10-12 All-India championships in a year. 26 boys and girls represented Indian youth, junior and senior women team. The Chhattisgarh teams have won 36 gold, 14 silver and 18 bronze medals {total 68} in various age- group National Basketball championship. The academy has given some great players in its decade long service to Indian basketball scene. The junior, youth and sub-junior teams of the state have performed well so far but the only reason that senior teams do not perform that well is that the best players of the state get equipped in Railways and other departments in their quest for better jobs and work-profiles offered to them.
Chhattisgarh state also provides for good jobs and employment opportunities on the basis of sports quota but the structure is not that vast that it could accommodate all. The financial structure and the state government policies have improved in last few years, with the government introducing cash awards and job opportunities for the players. 52 players so far have got jobs on the basis of sports from Chhattisgarh, with 40 employed in the Railways itself,” informs Patel, who is a gold medalist in the basketball coaching diploma from NIS-Kolkata and is currently serving as the Deputy Manager Bhilai Steel Plant.
The academy has four courts along with a hostel stationed within the academy. It not only looks after the training, it bears all the expenses of education, travelling, kits, nutrition, resources and other needs of the players. The major part of the finances comes from Bhilai Engineering Corporation, which provides a sum of Rs 30 lakh to the academy. Bhilai Steel Plant looks in for the grounds, floodlights and coaching facilities, while Cosco {I} Ltd contributes for kits, shoes, air bags and balls and Chhattisgarh Youth Welfare Department (a government undertaking) looks in for the fare charges borne by the teams in commuting.
“ I wanted my kids to play some sport therefore I walked in with my children into the academy some 10 years back, It was then that I saw the huge potential in the players here and Rajesh Patel, I decided to step in as a sponsor to the academy. Since then we at BEC (Bhilai Engineering Company) have been providing a financial backup to the academy. Despite of the fact that it lies in a small town and away from modernization unlike the metro cities like Mumbai or Delhi, academy is a centre of profuse talent, which when provided with resources can work wonders for the country.” said Rajeev Jain, Director, BEC and President Chhattisgarh Pradesh Basketball Association.
Though there is need for an indoor court in the state as basketball is primarily an indoor sport, coaches and other sponsors are trying their best to ascertain land sanctioned by the government to build an indoor court. “We are expecting an indoor court soon which will help us a lot, because sometimes weather conditions obstruct our training” said Kavita Akula, who trains under Rajesh Patel and has represented India in Youth Championships 2009.
Rajesh Patel is always been on a hunt for talented players around the country. In past 10 years many players have been taken into the academy from the Naxalite and other backward areas of Chhattisgarh, where it is not possible to train them. Some of the players who are residents of the academy belong to backward areas like Korba, Rajnandgaon, Bilaspur, Janjgir etc. Pooja Ambhishtha who was selected for the IMG scholarship program belongs to Ambikapur which is a Naxalite area.
The training schedules are well planned and executed in right ways to give maximum results. “We are expected to be on the ground at 6 in the morning and in a day we practice for good 8 hours.” said Poonam Chaturvedi, who is the tallest player in the Indian women’s basketball circuit, with a height of six feet and six inches. She was spotted by Rajesh Patel in a National Woman Games held at Rajnandgaon {CG} in November 2010. He managed to get her in the academy and now it’s been two months of her stay at CBA.
I’m overwhelmed by the treatment I have got here in the academy. I think if I have not been a part of it, my sports career would have been stagnant. All of us owe a lot to sir. My parents would have never done so much for me what he has done so far in past four years that have been into the academy.” said Sangita Mandal, represented India in Junior ABC in 2010.
With unselfish efforts from many people to make it a leading academy in India, it is now known all over India and is one of the best centres. “What is missing is an indoor court and I’m sure that will be made available to us in some time as promised by Sonmoni Borah {IAS} Chairman Chhattisgarh Pradesh Basketball Association and Rajeev Jain President Chhattisgarh Pradesh Basketball Association with the help of state government. We are trying our best to procure at least 1-2 acre land to construct an indoor court. Talks are on and hope we’ll get a sanction very soon.” added Patel.
Chhattisgarh Basketball Academy is moving in the right direction to assist basketball in India, time and again it has produced champions and the pursuit is still on with an undying passion and dedication of players and coaches. The structure is well maintained and plan of action quite organized, it has been successful in pooling the young talented lots under one roof. It is on the road to development with the right ideology, strengthening the grass-root level in India.
By Akshi Aggarwal
Indian Sports News