A 26-year-old basketball player from a small village in Bhavnagar district has made it to the Indian team. This team is in Bahrain to play Asia Cup qualifier matches.
Shaktisinh Gohil, president, Gujarat Basketball Association, had spotted the 6 feet 9 inch tall Vivek Goti from Rupavati village of Mahuva town while he was working in his father’s farm after clearing his Grade 12. As per Goti, “When Gohil saw me in 2013, he told me that my height and body were most suitable for basketball and invited me to join the coaching academy in Bhavnagar. He also helped me in getting accommodation while I was in training.”
The real spark came in 2014 when Goti’s team won the Khel Mahakumbh Trophy. “I was highly motivated by the win. I started practicing for 8 hours daily.” Goti has now completed his Bachelor in Arts and joined Indian Navy in sports quota. He has been posted at Lonavala with the Indian Navy. He was selected for the National camp starting December in Bengaluru where 20 players were invited from all over the country. At the end of the camp, the final 12 players were selected for the India team and Goti among the selected.
He is the only player from Gujarat in the team right now. One of the best performances of Goti was during a recent national tournament when he as a centre forward scored 30 points against Chennai. As per Gohil, “A Serbian coach had said that Got’s body is similar to a Serbian player which helps him in the game.” India will be playing two matches against Iraq and Lebanon during the February 10-23 tour.
