FIBA Women’s Basketball League Asia: Railways to become first Indian team at the event

Women’s basketball in Asia has a long history, dating back to the inaugural Asian championship in 1965. Even the Asian u-18 championship is 57 years old, while the u-16 Asia Cup is 17 years old.

Against this backdrop, the six-day FIBA Women’s Basketball League Asia (WBLA), beginning at the Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru on Tuesday (October 20, 2026), is only in its third year.

Inspired by the women’s league in the Americas, the WBLA, however, hopes to grow.

In the WBLA’s two previous editions—2024 and 2025—two different teams from China won the title. This time, too, the Asian superpower looks strong enough to complete a hat-trick of titles for the country.

Sichuan Yuanda Meile, which won the inaugural edition in 2024 before Dongguan New Century claimed the crown last year, is back.

With a strong foreign presence in Chennedy Carter (USA) and Sara Blicavs (Australia), Sichuan appears to be the team to beat. The absence of its star player Han Xu is unlikely to dent its bid for a second title.

Yang Yi, Sichuan’s head coach, was confident of his team’s chances.

“The atmosphere for basketball is good in China. Our owner is very supportive. We are provided with all the facilities we ask for,” Yi told The Hindu in Bengaluru on Monday (October 19)through a translator.

Four club champions from China, South Korea (KB Stars), Chinese Taipei (Cathay Life Tigers) and Japan (Denso Iris), along with Indian National champion Indian Railways and wild-card entrant Akari Sports from the Philippines, make up the six-team competition.

While five teams have home-grown coaches, Denso has a Serbian at the helm in Vladimir Vuksanovic. In his fifth year as the club’s head coach, Vuksanovic wants to make an impact but is keen to take it one match at a time.

“We know the competition. China plays basketball at a very high level. They have very good foreign players. I want to build a young team from Japan with assistance from foreigners,” said the 54-year-old, who was an assistant coach of the Serbian women’s national team from 2016 to 2021.

Vuksanovic hopes the WBLA will grow like the East Asia Super League, with more teams and a longer duration.

Hosted by India for the first time, after the first two editions were held in China, the WBLA will see Railways become the first Indian team to participate in the league. Its head coach, Anita Pauldurai, knows the competition is of the highest quality and that her team faces a formidable challenge.

“We had a weeklong camp, which was too short. But still, we have prepared quite well. The WBLA will be good exposure for us. It’s a huge challenge. We will implement our strategies,” said Anita, who highlighted the urgent need for a National League to identify fresh young talent.

Railways will have just one Sudanese player (pursuing collegiate education in Chennai) among its two permitted foreign recruits.

Railways will take on Denso on Tuesday (October 20) at 7 p.m.

Groups

Group A:

Sichuan Yuanda Meile (Chn); Akari Sports (Phi); Cathay Life Tigers (Tpe).

Group B:

Denso Iris (Jpn); KB Stars (Korea); Indian Railways (Ind).

The top two teams from each group enter the semifinals.