DHARAMSHALA, August 21: Tibetan schools in India are participating in the premiere inter-Tibetan school basketball tournament for secondary and senior-secondary boys organised by the Dharamshala based Tibetan National Sports Association.

As many as 20 schools will compete in regional tournaments, grouped under three geographic areas, South India, Himachal Pradesh and Doon Valley.

In a release Monday, TNSA said the tournaments will be held in Tibetan Children’s Village schools in the region.

The South Indian regional tournament began on August 20 at TCV School Bylakuppe with teams from CST CVP Bylakuppe, CST Hunsur, CST Kollegal, CST Bylakuppe and CST Mundgod vying for the top spot.

The Himachal region tournament will be hosted by TCV School Gopalpur from September 7-9 and includes teams from TCV Upper Dharamsala, TCV Lower Dharamsala, TCV Suja, TCV Chauntra, STS Chauntra, CST Shimla and CST Dalhousie.

The Doon Valley teams of Tibetan Homes Foundation Rajpur, TNMF School Clement Town, CST Mussoorie, CST Herpertpur, and STS Paota Sahib will meet at TCV School Selakui on August 25.

TNSA, the only sports association in the exile community, which also manages the Tibetan National Football Association, is oragnising and financing the basketball tournaments.

Established in 2002, TNSA hopes to further develop sports in the Tibetan community by establishing coaching centres with sports facilities and conduct training programmes for officials and coaches in various Tibetan schools.

The Association also manages the Tibetan national football team, which has on earlier occasions represented Tibet against international teams and also played with teams in India.

Tournament schedule and results can be found on the TNSA website tibetansports.org.