Jakarta: Indian women hoopsters went down to Kazakhstan 61-79 in their opening Group A match of the Asian Games here on Friday.

In match marred by poor shooting, India failed to grab the chances. India, led by Keralite P S Jeena, failed to convert a number of opportunities in the first quarter as the Kazakhs led 18-13.

Shireen Vijay Limaye led the fightback as India staged a spirited recovery in the early part of the second quarter and reduced the deficit to 19-21. But unforced errors and fouls put the Indians on the backfoot as the Central Asians again broke through and opened up a 37-25 lead at the half-time. The superior physical power and height advantage also worked in favour of the Kazakhs, especially when it came to rebounds.

Raspreet Sidhu put up a fine performance on resumption of play, but despite that India trailed 46-59 going into the final quarter. The Kazakhs closed out the game without much trouble.

Asian Games: Indian women lose to Kazakhs in basketball
Action from the India-Kazakhstan match. Photo: Paul Abraham K

Jeena, another Keralite Stephy Nixon and Raspreet made it to the double digits, but it was not enough to save the day for the Indian eves.

Tamara Yagodkina and Zalina Kurasova were the stars for the Kazakhs.

India next play Chinese Taipei on Sunday. Unified Korea and hosts Indonesia are the other sides in the five-team Group A.

Result: Kazakhstan 79 (Tamara Yagodkina 21, Zalina Kurasova 16) bt India 16 (P S Jeena 15 , Stephy Nixon 12, Raspreet Sidhu 11).

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