Abstract:

Introduction & background: Successful game of basketball needs ability of the players to generate good speed, agility and tremendous power during the play of game. Skills like dribbling, shooting and passing are of utmost importance for a player at any level of play. Not merely skills but also physical and physiological characteristic of a player will contribute to the success of the player as well as of the team. Optimal performance thus requires a combination of technical and tactical abilities as well as a high degree of physical fitness. Efforts, to improve the standard of our sportsmen, have achieved an insignificant success in this respect.

Aims & objectives: The present study was undertaken to assess, analyze and compare aerobic capacity, flexibility, agility & reaction time in Basketball players & age matched controls. Also compare these results with national and international standards available.

Material & method: Parameters like aerobic capacity using bicycle ergometer and modified Astrand’s nomogram, flexibility using goniometry & sit-reach test, agility using quadrant jump, burpees’ squat thrust & reaction time were assessed. As we lag far behind in scientific assessment of Indian basketball players this study thus aims at their fitness and game specific skills.There is a highly significant increase in VO2 max of the basketball than the control group. The trunk flexibility was significant while the shoulder and knee flexibility was highly significant in basketball players. The agility of the basketball players was not significantly different from controls except burpee’s squat thrust. The reaction time for audio-visual stimulus was significantly more in basketball players.

Suggestion: As there is a need to improve in all sections of the game, we should make exercise and game mandatory at all levels of education, so that we can groom young talents if identified early into a new generation of successful Indian sportsmen.

Keywords: Basketball Solapur Aerobic capacity Flexibility Agility Reaction time
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