Tamika Raymond appointed to lead Indian Sr. Women's National Team

Tamika Raymond has been appointed as the head coach for the Indian Sr. Women's Basketball team for the 16th Asian Games slated to be held in November. Raymond will be working with the Indian team in Chennai before leading them for the Games, which will be held in Guangzhou (China) from November 12-27.

Raymond was appointed coach by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) following a comprehensive search by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) for coaches in the U.S., and after interviewing several candidates, Raymond was selected. The National Basketball Association (NBA) assisted BFI in identifying potential U.S. coaching candidates.

Raymond will also be supported by IMG-Reliance who is in partnership to support BFI in developing basketball in India.

Raymond is a former WNBA player and NCAA Division I Assistant Coach. She spent seven seasons (2002-2008) in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), six with the Minnesota Lynx and one year with the Connecticut Sun. She also served seven years (2003-2010) combined as assistant coach at two NCAA Division I colleges: Ohio State University and University of Kansas.

"The players in this team are definitely talented," said Raymond, "I am hoping to put in some work with them so that they can become a tactically smart team with good fundamentals and strong defense. We still have a long way to go but I think this team can show some improvement perform pretty well at the Asian Games."

"It's a great challenge and I admire the work that the BFI is doing in raising the level of basketball in India."

Harish Sharma, the Secretary-General of BFI, welcomed Raymond to India. "We are excited to have Coach Raymond in India. She will bring her experience after playing in the world's best women's league - the WNBA - to our players, and she has also worked as an assistant coach in a tough D1 college competition. We are hoping that she can share her coaching expertise with the girls in India to improve our performance for the upcoming games."

"The BFI is grateful for the assistance of the NBA in helping us to bring her here," said Sharma, "Furthermore, our partners at IMG-Reliance will also continue to work with us to look after the coach's needs."

Raymond's job began in Chennai from Monday, October 4th as she began holding work-outs with the players. She will evaluate the talent available and work with his selected squad to train for the upcoming competition over the next few months.

Raymond’s appointment was announced soon after the appointment of William R. Harris, another American basketball coach who was appointed to lead the Indian Sr. Men’s Basketball Team to the Asian Games a week ago.