Harlem Globetrotters in Hyderabad, India

The Harlem Globetrotters were in Hyderabad last week from Nov 15-17 as part of their tour to India to bring about an increase in awareness about Basketball. This is their second visit to India.

As part of their visit, they had launched a Basketball car in IMAX, which was only pre-match media coverage they got in Hyderabad. The three matches were played on the outskirts of Hyderabad in the Gaachibowli Indoor Stadium.
They played against the New York Nationals a team which basically exists to play against the Globetrotters and make it a one sided match for HGT so that they can display their awesome skills. Needless to say the matches were one-sided as was expected because people come to see the skills of HGT and not a matchup with a team like NYN.

The matches was full of slam dunks, dribbles, etc,. which captivated the audience. There were also quite a few moments were the audience was involved in the match by HGT. There was also constant music being played in the background. The one problem though was the sound clarity because when the HGT were trying to entertain the crowd with their antics, most of the people didn't know what they were saying as the voice eminating from the sound systems did not have clarity.

The tickets were priced in the range of Rs 250 - Rs 3,500. There were only about a hundred people to watch the matches probably due to the location of the stadium and also probably due to the highly priced tickets.

According to the SportzIndia Management Pvt Ltd organisers of HGT tour of India, the Globetrotters will make frequent tours to India in the next few years to popularize the game here. Thats a good news for us !!!