Indian cagers go down tamely

Kazakhstan routed India 119-66 in the level II placing round in the women's 19th Asian basketball championships in Bangkok on Wednesday.

Both teams will play another round of level II matches on Thursday to claim their rankings.

Earlier on Wednesday, Uzbekistan swept past Malaysia 91-75 while Sri Lanka beat Macau 91-72 to place seventh among eight teams in the level II competition, leaving Macau in last place.

China and Taiwan are set to meet later on Wednesday in the level I competition while defending champions South Korea take on Japan.

A match scheduled for Thursday, between Hong Kong and Lebanon, was cancelled after the Lebanese squad left Thailand early due to "domestic problems" back home.

Hong Kong is ranked fifth while Lebanon is ranked sixth in the level II competition.

The top three teams from level I - comprising China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand - will travel to China next year for the World championships.

Level II teams, which are vying for a slot among the level I sides, include Hong Kong, India, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Macau, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Uzbekistan.

North Korea are not participating in this year's tourney due to financial constraints, organisers said.