The Indian men’s basketball team bowed out of the 2026 FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup in the group stage on Friday.

Having qualified for the main draw following a three-match unbeaten run in the qualifying round on Wednesday, the Indian cagers were unable to sustain the momentum to advance to the knockouts.

The team consisting of Pranav Prince, Harsh Dagar, Arvind Muthu, and Kushal Singh lost both their Group A matches against New Zealand and Qatar.

The Indians started well against New Zealand, racing to an early 3-0 lead via Harsh and Arvind. However they committed multiple errors, especially towards the fag end of the match as New Zealand took advantage of the free throws to register a convincing 16-11 victory.

Later, pitted against Qatar in a must win encounter, India went down 10-16. They trailed 3-9 in the contest before fighting back briefly to reduce the deficit to four points at 8-12.

They, however, failed to sustain their level to lose and crash out of the competition.

Last year, India had advanced to the knockout stage and had finished sixth eventually.

Earlier in the competition, the Indian women’s basketball team failed to reach the main draw with as they finished with a win and a loss in the qualifying round.