Genes, experiences give Indian Sandhu good chances for success

DEHLI (India) - Amaan Sandhu's chances of success in basketball seem good when you consider the young Indian's family genes, the instruction he is receiving and the events to which he has been exposed - all while still being nine months shy of his 18th birthday.

Sandhu's latest of a growing list of accomplishments was being on the roster for India at the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers - though he did not play in India's 68-67 loss at Bahrain or 94-75 victory at Iraq. But he got a chance to be alongside some of the country's top leaders in the game, including Amritpal Singh and Vishesh Bhriguvanshi.

Those two Qualifiers came just days after another moment Sandhu will treasure greatly - participating in the Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Global Camp at the NBA All-Star weekend in Chicago.

"I will remember the most my teammates. They were really great and friendly, and I will remember the All-Star weekend," said Sandhu, who was the only Indian boys camper at the event which featured 64 players in total with 40 boys.

"The Global Camp is really good for the players because they get a lot of exposure -  also to other countries. And we get to play against each other and experience different cultures."

The sixth BWB Global Camp could also seen as confirmation of the work that the Mohali native is putting in having attended the NBA Academy India in Greater Noida the last three years. Sandhu also attended the last two BWB Asia camps - in India in 2018 and in Japan in 2019.

"The first camp I was excited but not that athletic. I did well but not good. The last one was good. I was dunking on everybody and was able to hit some three-pointers. I was excited that I was able to do the things I could," Sandhu said.

The 6ft 11in (2.11m) big man was also pleased with what he was able to show in Chicago.

"I was looking forward to working as hard as I could. I think I did. I did what I was supposed to do," he said.

The BWB Global Camp allowed Sandhu to go up against the likes of German center Ariel Hukporti, who was named MVP of the camp; as well as fellow Asian Kai Sotto of the Philippines, whom he met at BWB Asia in 2018.   

"I saw Kai videos and I was excited to know that he would be my roommate. We had a talk and he told me about some of his experiences. It was great," he said.

The last couple of years have also seen Sandhu at the NBA Global Academy Games in 2018 and 2019 as well as the NBA Global Camp in Italy in June 2018.

And the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers were actually the second time Sandhu wore India on his chest after helping India win the South Asian Games in December 2019 in Nepal. He said he would love to play for India at the AsiaCup next year.

"It's one of my dreams. My father used to play for the Indian team. He's proud of me," Sandhu said.

His father, Gurcharanjeet Sandhu, played for India for 1995 to 2002 while his mother, Rajinder Kaur, played domestically for more than a decade. And Amaan is not the only sibling to play for his country as his sister Aakarshan Sandhu participated at the FIBA Asia U18 Championship for Women 2016.

Amaan Sandhu said he's not the only one in the country that is getting better at basketball.

"Basketball was not that big before, but now that the NBA has stepped in I think it's getting better. The NBA is having a huge role in growing the game and the kids are getting inspired."

Add it all up and Sandhu seems destined to do big things for Indian basketball.

FIBA