Kuwait beats Indian Railways to reach Asia Cup semifinals

Kuwait advanced to the semifinals of the West Asia Basketball League’s Final Eight, defeating India’s Indian Railways 106-101 in a decisive match on Wednesday evening. The victory came in the third and final round of Group A in the tournament hosted by Lebanon’s Al-Hakam Club, which runs until October 4.

With this win, Kuwait (known as “Al-Abyad”) moved to five points from two victories: a 105-97 win over Saudi Al-Ittihad and a win against the Indian team, alongside a single loss to Lebanese Al-Riyadi, the reigning champion from the past two seasons and group leader who advanced to the semifinals, 82-83. Kuwait secured second place, one point ahead of Indian Railways in third, while Indian Railways and bottom-placed Al-Ittihad were eliminated from the competition.

In the semifinals, Al-Riyadi will face the runners-up of Group B, while Kuwait will play the Group B leader next Saturday.

This marks the third time “Al-Amid” has reached the semifinals across their three participations, having previously advanced to this stage in the first two editions of the tournament. In 2023, they reached the final before losing to Bahrain’s Manama.

The qualification gives the team a new opportunity to return to the final after missing the final stage last season, having been eliminated from the semifinals during the 2024-2025 Gulf Cup playoffs.