Singapore, April 2 (ANI): The Indian women's basketball team fell short of qualifying for the main draw of the FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup 2026 in Singapore after suffering a crucial defeat against Malaysia in the qualifying round on Thursday.

Ranked 88th in the world, India went down 16-13 to 44th-ranked Malaysia in their opening Pool B match, according to Olympics.com.

Despite taking an early 6-4 lead, the Indian side could not maintain momentum as Malaysia edged ahead to secure the decisive win.

Pushpa Senthil Kumar was the standout performer for India with six points, while Dharshini Thirunavukkarasu added valuable contributions, including two successful shots from beyond the arc.

India bounced back strongly in their second match, registering a commanding 21-4 victory over Turkmenistan. Sreekala Rani and Pushpa led the scoring with six points each, while Dharshini chipped in with five, and Sanjana Ramesh added four, showcasing a dominant all-round performance.

However, Malaysia sealed the lone main draw berth from the group after defeating Turkmenistan 21-9 later in the day, leaving India out of contention. Only the top team from each qualifying pool advances to the main draw.

This marks the second consecutive edition where the Indian women's team has failed to progress beyond the qualifiers. In the previous edition, India had registered a win over Guam, but losses against Hong Kong China and Chinese Taipei ended their campaign early.

In contrast, the Indian men's team enjoyed a successful outing, advancing to the main draw after impressive wins over Bahrain, Kazakhstan and Hong Kong China in Pool D of the qualifiers. They are set to face Qatar and New Zealand in their main draw fixtures on Friday.

The top two teams from each group in the main draw will qualify for the quarter-finals. India's men's team had reached the last-eight stage in the previous edition, marking their best performance in over a decade. (ANI)