In Asia, India has long been a well-known basketball team. It has competed in the FIBA Asia Cup twenty-five times and is one of the top five nations in terms of appearances. India is also one of South Asia's most successful basketball teams, with three gold and one silver medal at the South Asian Games. The name Khushi Ram stands out among the many excellent players India has produced. Khushi Ram, also known as 'The Scoring Machine of Asia,' was an Indian basketball player who represented his country in several international games.
Khushi Ram was born in Jhamri village in Haryana's Jhajjar district and spent his childhood and schooling there. As a Boy Recruit, he joined the Rajputana Rifles, a Delhi-based Army regiment, in 1950. Basketball coaches in Rajputana Rifles recommended him to take up the game because of his 6' 4" height and strong physical build. In the early stages of his career, Khushi Ram was trained by basketball coach Subedar Moolchand, and he made his National Basketball Championship debut in 1952, playing for the Services basketball team.
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Khushi Ram was named to the Indian National Basketball Team for the fourth quadrangular competition in Colombo in 1964. It was his first trip outside of India. The next year, in 1965, he was selected captain of the Indian squad for the Asian Basketball Championship, which was held in Kuala Lumpur. Despite India's 7th place finish, Khushi Ram was the tournament's top scorer. He finished second in the 1967 ABC Championship in Seoul, when India finished sixth. In a contest between India and the Philippines, India was defeated by a large margin, although Khushi Ram only earned 40 points out of the Indian team's 63 total points, and his basket conversion percentage in all major international events was 85 percent.
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From 1964 until 1972, Ram was a key member of India's national team, serving as captain in 1965 in the Asian Basketball Confederation Championship (now known as the FIBA Asia Championship) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. India came to seventh place in the competition. He was the tournament's top scorer (and the only Indian to do so at the Senior Men's level). He was the tournament's second and third top scorer in the next two Asian Championships, held in Seoul (Korea) and Bangkok (Thailand). Ram's renown peaked in 1970, when he dominated the 10th Anniversary Celebrations Championship in Manila, scoring 43 points against the hosts Philippines (the highest by an Indian in an international).
After witnessing his performance, the Philippines coach famously went on to say, “Give us Khushi Ram, and we will conquer the world.” This comment from the coach of an Asian superpower demonstrates the magnitude of Khushi Ram's influence on the game of basketball. Khushi Ram also volunteered to coach the team throughout the game. He took over as coach of the Shri Ram Rayons Basketball team in 1976 after declaring his retirement, and he also coached the Rajasthan Basketball team for many years. Shri Ram Rayons was India's finest team under his guidance, winning several All-India competitions.
