(Photo Courtesy: Nagaland Basketball Association)
Dimapur, May 23 (MExN): In a first for Nagaland, Sentiningsang Longkumer, honorary secretary of the Nagaland Basketball Association, has been appointed Team Manager of the India U18 Girls Basketball Team for the FIBA U18 Asia Cup – SABA Qualifiers 2026 to be held in Sri Lanka from May 25 to 29.
Longkumer becomes the first Naga basketball administrator to serve as manager of an Indian basketball team, marking a significant milestone for the state and the Northeast region.
He also serves as an executive member of the Basketball Federation of India (BFI), representing Nagaland at the national level.
The girls’ qualifiers will feature teams from India, Maldives, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, with matches scheduled between May 25 and 29.
According to the schedule, India will face Maldives on May 25, Bangladesh on May 26 and Sri Lanka on May 27, while the final between the top two teams will be played on May 29.
Both the India U18 girls and boys teams will compete for qualification to the continental championship.
The India U18 girls squad comprises Aditi Subramanian, Angelina George, Mahek Sharma, Nethra Birudavolu, Vaishnavi Pardeshi, captain Viha Reddy Jonnalagadda, Reva Kulkarni, Jeffrin Anto, Saanvi Kolisetty, Sanvi Ranot, Taarushee Tarun and Tarannum Begum.
The support staff includes head coach Sarah Dawn Gayler, coaches Anitha Paul Durai and Saloni, trainer Manoj Singh Sisodiya, physio Reshma Senthil Kumar and Head of Delegation-cum-Team Manager Sentiningsang Longkumer.
The India U18 boys team includes Aakash Iyappan, Abhyupang Mishra, Arman, Chirag, Fatehjeet Singh, Joypreet Sidhu, Khushnaz Baidwan, Krishna Suneriya, captain Piyush Choudhary, Ronaldo Hopkins, Priyadharsan Rathinam and Shekhar Rathee.
The boys’ support staff comprises head coach Paramdeep Singh, coaches Vipin Kannan, Rohit Kumar and Loganathan Thiruvengadam, physio Krunalkumar Rajeshkumar Chudasma and Team Manager Wanlambok Lawphniaw.
The appointment of Longkumer highlights Nagaland’s growing presence in Indian basketball and is expected to inspire young athletes from the region.
