MUMBAI, May 25 (Reuters) – On a recent Saturday afternoon, the Celtics took on Magic, cheered on by raucous onlookers. The pace was quick, the players committed and the rivalry intense.
The participants, though, were not the storied Boston and Orlando basketball teams, but boys of the Mahindra-NBA recreational league in India, where the National Basketball Association (NBA) hopes to take advantage of the growing popularity of the sport to gain a foothold, backed by one of the largest corporate groups in the country.
India has famously been a one-sport country, with sponsors, audiences and even politicians obsessed with cricket.
Robust economic growth and greater exposure, however, have recently encouraged commercial and consumer interest in sports from soccer to Formula One motor racing and the Olympics.
“Cricket represents sports one through five in terms of popularity, but for us even a small slice of a billion-plus market represents real opportunity,” said Adam Silver, NBA deputy commissioner, speaking in Los Angeles.
“What we’re seeing in India is a burgeoning middle class, as well as a young population…we see an opportunity over time. It’s hard to resist a population of that size.”
source www.reuters.com/article/
