Reigning National champion Indian Railways will be competing in the third edition of Asia’s premier annual competition for women’s basketball clubs (FIBA-Women’s Basketball League Asia-WBLA) to be held at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru from October 20 to 25. Railways will take on Denso Iris (Japan) in its first match on October 21. This is the first time a team from India is taking part in WBLA.
Six teams have been divided into two groups according to the FIBA World Ranking for Women. The Group Phase, to be held on October 20-22, will be played in a single round-robin format.
The top two teams from each group will compete in the knockout crossover semifinals, while the teams that will finish third in their groups will play in a Classification 5-6. These games will be played on October 24 followed by the final on October 25.
“Our team looks good. We have to start the preparatory camp which will either be in Telangana or Bengaluru. It’s quite a tough pool we are in with clubs from Korea and Japan. We will give a tough fight and hope for the best,” P. Anitha, head coach of the Indian team told The Hindu here on Tuesday.
The groups:
A: Sichuan Yuanda Meile (China); Akari Sparks (Philippines); Cathay Life Tigers (Taipei); B: Denso Iris (Japan); KB Stars (Korea); Indian Railways.
Published – September 08, 2026 10:39 pm IST
