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Chris Bosh In India Promoting The NBA
Two time NBA champion winner with the Miami Heat and repeat player for the winning USA basketball Oylmpic team, Chris Bosh is the man of the hour in India.
Traveling across the ocean, Bosh was in Mumbai from July 16th to 19th promoting and kicking off a four day basketball tournament that is due to start in September. With the growing popularity of basketball in the country, the tour is bound to touch down in Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Bangalore.
The four day tour will feature almost 500 participating teams, both male and female in two age divisions, 16-18 and 19-23, entertainment and musical performances. The finalists of the tournament will head to Mumbai to play their playoffs in an NBA replica arena and the winners will get the chance to play 3 on 3 against three NBA superstars.
"I'm always interested in traveling the world, and any opportunity that comes up to spread the game of basketball and travel, I think that is the best of both," Bosh said in a phone interview with the Sun Sentinel during his four days in Mumbai as special emissary of the NBA.
Chris Bosh in India via sportsgrid.com
"People are aware [of basketball.] Not as aware as China, but I think the love of the game is growing here. A lot of people here are interested in basketball. There are a lot of Heat fans. They were watching the Finals. They asked me a lot of questions about LeBron. You can just tell that the game has a chance to really grow here."
The NBA is serious about making that happen. The league has hosted about 450 grassroots events in 10 Indian cities since 2008 and created a recreational league that has 6,000 players.
But the potential is much greater with about 600 million Indians under age 25, according to Yannick Colaco, managing director of NBA India.
Things like basketball clinics, skills and dunk contests, NBA Jam and NBA3X have been upping the interest of this game across the country and inspiring youth to start playing the game. Bosh's pre-tournament tour started with a tour of Mumbai, followed by a press conference and then two action packed days featuring a basketball clinic, an NBA Cares Magic Bus tour and lastly the NBA and SONY Nasmate Bosh Fan Contest, that gives fans a chance to welcome Bosh to India.
"We want to grow our fan base through increasing participation, and we want to grow the game at a grassroots level," Colaco said. "Our focus is on India's youth, and we want to continue to expand access of the NBA through television and in digital platforms."
One way to achieve that is by bringing in 7-foot stars already familiar to viewers on live and taped telecasts. With the NBA's new TV deal with Sony's Multi Screen Media amping up exposure since 2012, the Heat has been a prime and popular attraction.
Bosh said he was getting a lot of queries about the vital rebound he grabbed and pass to Ray Allen for the season-saving 3-pointer to force overtime in Game 6 of the Finals against the Spurs.
"It surprised me. I thought, OK, guys were watching the games. So it's not like you have to introduce yourself, [or] introduce them to basketball. They know about us and they know about the Spurs," he said. "A lot of people are excited to meet me, and I'm very humbled by that."
Bosh also brought over the Larry O'Brien Trophy to tour the city with him, giving the basketball fans of India the chance to take some pictures with the iconic trophy.
Basketball fans in India are anticipating the tournament and organizers are hoping that this tournament sets the stage for bigger, better, more basketball related events and bringing more awareness to the sport in the country.
Interest and anticipation is mounting for Bosh's return in September to kick off the tournament
Feature Image : www.sportsgrid.com
Video courtesy of NBA
Geeta Wahab
Author
Cultivating a life she loves, Geeta (@geets.suites) is chasing all her passions, including her love for home décor. As a brand new home owner, her current journey has launched her further into that world - check out her Instagram @geets.suites for tidbits of her story and other decorating pieces. A...
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