02 February,2016 07:50 AM IST | | Karthik Nair
10-year-old Lokhandwala Foundation's 5-feet-7 towers above the rest on court yesterday as Lokhandwala Foundation School (Kandivli) beat Cathedral & John Connon School 'B' (Fort) 24-3
Yashwardhan Nagar (in light blue) of Lokhandwala Foundation School (Kandivli) during an U-11 basketball match against Cathedral & John Connon 'B' (Fort) at Azad Maidan yesterday
Yashwardhan Nagar towered above the rest on court yesterday as Lokhandwala Foundation School (Kandivli) beat Cathedral & John Connon School 'B' (Fort) 24-3 in the Mumbai Schools Sports Association (MSSA) boys U-11 second round inter-school basketball match at Azad Maidan yesterday.
Yashwardhan Nagar (in light blue) of Lokhandwala Foundation School (Kandivli) during an U-11 basketball match against Cathedral & John Connon 'B' (Fort) at Azad Maidan yesterday. Pic/Shadab Khan
The 10-year-old is a strapping 5 feet 7 inches tall, much bigger than the other kids of his age, and yesterday he made quite an impression with his ball skills, top-scoring in the match with 14 points.
Yashwardhan netted four points in the first quarter, before missing out on quite a few scoring opportunities in the second, resulting in him being benched in the third segment. However, in the final quarter he notched up as many as 10 points leaving Cathedral stunned.
It's no wonder then that the opposition coach was all praise for the big built Yashwardhan.
"He is a tall kid and made good use of his height. He made it very tough for us. Seeing him score motivated his teammates too and that made it even more difficult for us," said Cathedral & John Connon coach Manoj Kotian.
Lokhandwala Foundation coach Jameel Khan said Yashwardhan has a promising future ahead as a hoopster.
"He has been gifted with good height and is making the most of it. If he continues to play like this, I have no doubt that he will definitely make it to the national level by the time he reaches the U-13 category," said Khan.
Yashwardhan, meanwhile, is eyeing the inter-school title. "I started playing basketball since last year. My height is definitely an advantage and but I'm enjoying every second on court. I hope I can help my school become champions this year," said the big fella.
