CHENNAI: India’s chances of advancing to the Asia Cup diminished with a 53-69 loss to Qatar in the FIBA Qualifiers at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium here on Friday.
It was India’s third successive defeat in Group E. India, like in the opening-window matches, had a good start and the hosts were able to match Qatar in the first half, trailing 31-36.

India’s defence came up with two early blocks, while the attackers scored three 3-pointers to set the tone. India were within striking distance in the first two quarters, thanks to captain Muin Bek, who scored 15 points in the opening half. All his points came from outside the perimeter. The hosts were unable to put Qatar under pressure in the paint, with India’s first free throw coming only in the second minute of the second quarter.
India led three times in the first half but surrendered the advantage on all occasions within a short space of time. From 19-22, the visitors scored 10 consecutive points and when it looked like Qatar would run away with the match, India’s coach Scott Flemming called for a time out. The break helped India settle down and reduce the deficit to one point.
However, things turned upside down for the hosts in the second half. India were restricted to just eight points in the third quarter and were forced to settle for outside shots. In this period, India relied heavily on the 3-pointers and failed to score for about five minutes. However, Pranav Prince brought some respite by scoring five points, but that did not prove enough.
While Qatar scored as many as 36 points from the paint, India could earn only 16 points, which turned out to be the major difference. Also, India were poor on rebounds as they managed only 37 compared to Qatar’s 47. Lee Harris and Mike Lewis stood out for Qatar with 17 points each.
India coach Flemming felt that the hosts did not utilise the chances they got in the third quarter. “We started off well and we knew that we will be at a disadvantage if we did not rebound well. The guys played hard till the end. We did not take open shots in the third quarter and had we scored a few from them, things could have been different,” Flemming said.