Far from home: Kushal Singh's busy summer from U16 to Asia Cup continues in Tehran

TEHRAN (Iran) - It is never easy being away from home for a long while, but Kushal Singh is nonetheless relishing the ride with India.

The 17-year-old is set to play in the FIBA U18 Asian Championship, marking the third time in three months that he will represent the country after playing in the FIBA U16 Asian Championship and the FIBA Asia Cup earlier.

"It's really hard for me to stay away from home for so long," he admitted.

"But this will pay off for me. I'm enjoying this journey of mine."

 Busy has been the schedule of Singh since June, when he got called up for the U16 Asian Championship in Qatar. It was his first rodeo with the national team, and it became so memorable with the history they made.

There, India finished fifth, with the 1.95 M (6'5") winger among those who led the way with per-game averages of 22.6 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game en route to clinching a place in the All-Star Five by the end of the competition.

"It was a great achievement for us all," he said of that remarkable run. "The players played exceptionally well. The team bonding was really good."

That impressive performance would earn him a spot on the senior men's national team for the prestigious Asia Cup 2022 in Indonesia the following month, indeed an indication of how big his role will be in India hoops moving forward.

"It was a great opportunity for me to play with the senior Indian team in the Asia  Cup," he said. "I gained so much experience and confidence. The level of competition was so different and difficult, but I tried to give my best there."

It has been quite a journey for Singh, considering that he only started playing basketball at the age of 14.

Yes, just about three years ago.

And it all started with a simple drop-by to a local court.

"I went to the hostel in Varanasi," he recalled, "then, I just went to the basketball court."

"I was watching them play. Then the coach came to me, and asked me if I wanted to play basketball because my height and length was good," he furthered. "After that, I started my basketball journey."

Blessings came one after the other on his way since. An MVP of the U14 Nationals back home, Singh was then invited to the NBA Academy India.

Fast forward to now and he is seen as a potential vanguard of the national team, especially with another tour of duty in the U18 festivities taking place at the Azadi Basketball Hall during August 21-29 in Tehran.

And Singh will be bringing with him the experience gained from the Asia Cup, and the optimism to replicate their success in the U16 - or even better.

"I learned lots of things in the Asia Cup, like we have to be mentally and physically strong to compete at that level and the team bonding which I'll be focusing on in the Under-18," the soft-spoken young star said.

FIBA