Free Throw – All part of fun and games

Free throws are basically penalties for a foul in basketball; but for the sports journalists, it’s all part of the fun and games at their annual convention. They don’t have to really commit fouls to attempt a shot.

So since 2011 at Pune’s PYC Gymkhana, representatives from the various zones have tried their hand at sinking the ball into the basket from 4.6 m (15 ft) out.

As expected, it’s not too often that the ball has really found its desired hole, with a majority of them missing the mark, and that trend continued at the Don Bosco School, Guwahati and the Secunderabad Gymkhana last year.

They have, however, had better luck at taking and saving Penalty Kicks, which were introduced during the annual convention at Thiruvananthapuram in 2005. Free Throws are just another opportunity for our journalists to show off their sporting skills. With new faces at the annual convention, events like Putting, Penalty Kicks and Free Throw have indeed become popular.

During the SJFI convention in Pune, even a wet spell did not dampen the spirits of the players when it came to participating in the Free Throws, who made the most of it with the cricket matches being washed off at PYC Gymkhana and at the Deccan Gymkhana.

Even many of the famous NBA players do not think they can achieve a cent percent scoring rate at Free Throws; they in fact feel even 80-90 % is good enough. Hopefully, someone among the sports journalists will manage this feat someday in the future. For now, they are content with getting it right 5 per cent of the time.

Rajesh Rai taking a shot