India outwits Bahrain 81-77 to qualify for FIBA Men’s Asia Cup 2025

India qualifies for FIBA men's Asia Cup 2025 after thrilling wins over Iraq and Bahrain, led by Harsh Dagar's 28 points.

India pulled off a coup, displaying spunk and excellent end-game skills to outwit Bahrain 81-77 in a thriller on Saturday night to qualify for the FIBA men’s Asia Cup 2025. India will now travel to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for the Continental tournament to be held from August 5 to 17. 

Certainly not the favourite, India outplayed Iraq 97-77 and then Bahrain in the Qualifying tournament for the third-placed teams in Group-H. India led 39-38 against Bahrain at halftime and then pulled away in the third, taking a 62-55 lead. It held its own in the fourth and final quarter to clinch a famous victory. The last time India beat Bahrain was in 2013.

Harsh Dagar was the star of India with 28 points with 6 3-pointers. He had three rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Gurbaz Sandhu was the next top-scorer with 15 points. Kanwar Sandhu did his part to perfection, basketing 15 points while Pranav Prince and Hafeez picked 11 points each. One of the main reasons for India’s victory was its three-pointers, which India’s head coach Scott Flemming has been harping on. It converted 14 times out of 29 attempts.

Entering the fourth quarter, India appeared to have the match in its control, having taken a 62-55 lead. However, Bahrain fought back to snatch two-point lead at 77-75. Arvind Krishnan produced a three-pointer for 78-77 with just one minute and 38 seconds left. It was a tense last few seconds as both teams fought hard. In the dying seconds, Prince forced a turnover when he deflected Mosti Rashed’s inbound pass. After the final whistle, the team erupted in joy. 

India has now qualified the Asia Cup for the 11th straight time — a streak that dates back to 2001.

Speaking to FIBA.com, India’s head coach Flemming said, “Really proud of our guys, you know, to come in here and win two games when it easily could’ve gone the other way. This is now our third win in the Asia Cup Qualifiers and these are uncharted areas that we haven’t had for a long time in India. It’s all about them. I’m just trying to put them in a position to win and they take over from here. We still have things to work on ... really glad. We’re going to the Asia Cup.”