Two Sikh Indian basketball players asked to play without turbans

Bangalore, July 23: Looks like the celebrations for the

basketball team was short lived as two Sikh players in the team on Saturday were asked to play without the turbans.

According to reports, two Sikh players- Amritpal Singh and Amarjyot Singh were asked to play against Japan minus the turban. Both the players were not allowed inside the court just moments before their match against Japan.

Match officials spoke to the players saying that they were breaking International Basketball Federation rules (FIBA). According to FIBA, players are not allowed to wear any equipment like a headgear, hair accessory or jewellery.

Though the Indian team's coach appealed, the players were not allowed in the game. Only after they removed their turbans they were allowed to play in the first quarter.

The two players said that they had never faced such problems in the past. The coach said that he had met officials the previous day and thought that they had agreed to let the players play with the turbans, but he was surprised to see that both of them were initially stopped from playing.

The Indian Basketball team had recently defeated China in the 5th FIBA in Asia Cup.

OneIndia News