NBA made history when it drafted the first Indian to the League, Satnam Singh. This 7'2" rising basketball star who grew up in a remote Punjab village is coming home to India.
In a report by Times of India, NBA's Satnam Singh admits he might shed some tears when he sees his family again in his home town.
"I don't have words to say how excited I am. On seeing my family members, maybe I will cry," he said in the report.
Embarking on a 10-day family affair according to Times of India, NBA's Indian draft player Satnam Singh is raised in the remote village of Ballo Ke near Ludhiana in India. As a country where basketball is not the most popular sport, his NBA stint is expected to draw out some fans from the South Asian nation.
"Yes, I am coming home," he tells Times of India. "Since I have not got the tickets in hand, I am not fully aware of my exact travel schedule. Most probably I will be coming on August 5 at Delhi, then will go to my home via Chandigarh."
Last June, NBA made history by drafting Satnam Singh to the Dallas Mavericks.
During the summer of 2009, he was reportedly invited to try out for the country's junior team as qualification to the FIBA Asia Under-16 championship to be held in Malaysia then.
When he entered the team, Satnam Singh was the tallest player on the roster, ESPN reported.
"Weeks later and without complaint, eager to see the world, the giant boy folded himself into the seat of an airplane for a five-hour flight across the Bay of Bengal," the report added.
He continuously trained, played well and enhanced his skills which became the reasons NBA catapulted Satnam Singh to become a rising hoops player.
After getting drafted to the NBA, Satnam Singh comes back home to India to meet his family after over six months, Times of India said.
"We are all very excited. He is likely to reach on August 6," his sister said in the report. "We are planning to receive him at the New Delhi airport. After his arrival, the first thing that we will do is to visit the gurudwara in our village and in [the] coming days, we will go to the Golden Temple in Amritsar."
