Hangzhou, Oct 2: The Indian women made it to the quarterfinal despite being pummelled by China in their 5×5 basketball final group-stage match in the ongoing Asian Games here on Sunday.
Indian team suffered a crushing 53-111 defeat, which was its maiden loss in the sport this term, having won the previous two matches versus Indonesia (66-46) and Mongolia (68-62).
The quarterfinal qualification in the sport is earned by the combined ranking of the teams in the tournament post-completion of the group stage, i.e. the top eight-ranked sides, where the Indians are currently ranked sixth.
It is India’s fifth appearance in the competition in this sport, having finished ninth in the previous edition in Jakarta-Palembang 2018, whereas its best performance came in its first appearance in New Delhi 1982, finishing fifth.