The game of basketball has emerged today as one of the most exciting popular game in the world of sports. Although this game was invented by Dr. James Naismith in 1891, it appeared as one exhibition game only in the Olympic games of St. Louis and was included in Olympics in the year 1936 in berlin Olympics and the women took part in 1976 in Montreal Olympics. In 1910 Dr. Jhon Henry Grey, the director of physical education of the Calcutta YMCA College introduced Basketball game for the first time in India and it was at Calcutta in West Bengal High level performance in basketball depends on various factors and one of the important factors is shooting. Shooting is the principal method used to score points in Basketball and for this reason it is the most frequently used technical action (hay 1994). The free throw shot is distinguished as the most important of all the shooting actions (Hess 1980).Efficacy in shooting is identified with the ability to perform well in this sport and consequently it is extensively practiced. The free throw is considered to be one of the easiest shots in basketball (Okubo & Hubbard, 2006), since the player is all alone, 15 feet from the basket, with no defence and no close distractions. All the player has to do is get ready, aim, cock the ball and shoot but successful free throw shooting is required for all basketball players, regardless of position. The objective of the shooter is to shoot a basketball (circumference - 0.749-0.780 m) through a horizontally oriented hoop (inside radius 0.225 m; thickness radius 0.0085- 0.0100 m) whose centre is 3.05 m above the ground and 4.225 m in front of the free throw line (Pocock, 1992). The ball is released with an angle of release, speed and spin. The optimal trajectory, which is dependent upon the shooter, can be defined as the trajectory which maximizes the probability of a successful shot when it is attempted. If the optimal trajectory is currently not used, its adoption could increase the success of free throw shooting. Since shooting in basketball is one of the most important part of the game it has been a huge area of interest for most of the researchers.Physicists (Tan and Miller 1981; Gablonski and Lang 2005), engineers (Okubo and Hubbard 2006), and sports bio mechanists (Hudson 1982; Elliot 1989; Walters, Hudson et al. 1990; Elliot 1992; Miller and Bartlett 1996; Rojast, Cepero et al. 2000;Button, MacLeod et al. 2003; Tsai, Ho et al. 2006) have dealt with various types of shooting styles in a very detailed manner. Many researchers have worked on a number of studies on male free throw shooting techniques and on female free throw shooting techniques individually but not much emphasis have been laid on the comparison of successful and unsuccessful female free throw shooting techniques. Therefore this study is an attempt to analyze and compare various kinematic variables of free throw shooting in successful and unsuccessful free throws.

The objectives of the study are:

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2. To find out the pattern of unsuccessful throws. 3. To find out the difference in pattern.

For the purpose of the study a total of ten female Basketball players age ranged from 18-25 years, who have represented their team in west zone intervarsity competition from Lakshmibai national institute of physical education, Gwalior, were randomly selected for the study. Purposive sampling technique was used to select the sample.

The selection of variables was done by using the following criteria:- The research scholar gleaned through the scientific literature on related topic from different library sources available at the library of LNIPE, Gwalior and correspondence with the expert and scholar‟s own understanding. According to administrative feasibility of available instruments and expertise the following variables were selected. • Angle of right shoulder joint. • Angle of right elbow joint. • Angle of right wrist joint. • Angle of trunk. • Angle of right knee joint • Angle of right ankle joint. • Angle of release

To measure the reliability of the selected instruments Cannon EOS 70D high speed cameras used for recording of performance and Kinovea software used for the analysis of data in the study were obtained from the research laboratory of Lakshmibai national institute of physical education.

The video camera Cannon EOS 70Dwas adjusted on a tripod at a height of 1.36 mts from the ground and at plane and parallel to the medio-lateral axis (camera optical axes perpendicular on the sagittal plane) so as that the shooter‟s arm gives approximately a 9 between their respective optical axes. 24 frames per second as obtained by the use of high velocity videography were analysed (the best trail) by kinovia software. Only selected frames were obtained and the Research Scholar developed the stick figures from which various kinematic variables were obtained. The stick figures were developed by using joint point method in which the body projections at the joints facing the camera were considered for the study. For the purpose of analysis two moments were selected i.e. 1. Moment of stance in the free shot. 2. Moment of release of ball in the free shot. Videography technique was used in this study. The films were analyzed by using standard motion analyzer software (kinovia). Only two selected moments were analyzed.

To compare the selected variables of successful and unsuccessful free throw shot, independent t-test was used with the help of data analysis software SPSS 20 and the level of significance was set at 0.05.

Descriptive statistics of angular kinematic values of different joints during moment of stance.

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Descriptive statistics of angular kinematic values of different joints during moment of release.

Independent t-test of angular kinematic variables of various joints during moment of stance.

Independent t-test of angular kinematic variables of various joints during moment of release.

Tab t = 2.10 at degree of freedom=18 at 0.05 level of significance.

The above results in the table indicates that none of the angular kinematic variables were found to have a significant difference between successful and unsuccessful free throw shots other than elbow joint, knee joint and angle of release during the moment of release at the 0.05 level of significance. The study was conducted on comparative analysis of angular kinematic variables for successful and unsuccessful free shot in female basketball players. It was divided into two phases-Moment of stance in the free shot and moment of release of ball in the free shot. Descriptive statistics and independent t-test were used for selected angular kinematic variables at both the phases of the free throw shot.

The moment of stance is the beginning of the shot and is crucial to the execution. In order to begin the shot, the player needs to balance her body. This is the phase just before the breaking the inertia of the body. Ideal shooting stance with the shooter facing the basket, feet slightly staggered in the forward backward direction, and excellent range of knee flexion and trunk flexion. During moment of stance, none of the joints of upper and the lower limbs showed any significant difference when compared between successful and unsuccessful shots in movement pattern as significant differences were ≥ . 5. It may be due to the initial ball holding position was same for all the players.

In this phase extension of all joints occurs which produces upward and forward force to project the ball towards the basket. Transfer of force takes place in this phase. During the moment of release in the upper limb no significant difference was found in the angles of shoulder and wrist. The flexion of shoulder only helps in deciding the height at which the ball is being released and in production of force. If the player instead of using the shoulder to decide the height of release takes a jump, the void created can be easily fulfilled. Hence, the absence of significant difference in the variables is justified. While a significant difference was found in the pattern of elbow joint. As the increase in angle of elbow joint will increase the release height within normal range of movement, as the angle of this joint is closer to 1800.It is also to be noted that greater the angle of elbow extension more will be the force generated which will aid in propelling the ball at a higher release angle. Much of the power for the shot comes from extension of the elbow and the flexion of the wrist at release (Hartley and Fulton 1971). The elbow must be kept directly under the ball during the shot, so that all the forces are directed toward the basket. The elbow should be kept as close to the body as possible during the shot (Haskell 1985). The elbow position

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and over the front foot prior to the upward movement of the ball (Haskell 1985).trunk and ankle In case of lower limbs no significant difference was found in trunk and ankle joint. The joint of trunk helps in carrying the force generated by the legs to the ball to propel the ball towards the rim. Since the distance from where the subjects have been tested is constant, there are no significant changes in the angular kinematical values of the above mentioned variable. Hence, the absence of significant difference in the variables is justified. On the other hand significant difference was found in the knee joint. The knee joint helps in the production of force in the upward direction. Hence greater the angle of the knee joint more will be the force generated which will be transferred to the upper body for better projection of the ball. Hence, the significant difference in the variable is justified.

Angle of release for successful shot was 51.250 whereas for unsuccessful shot it was 44.500. Researcher has found that release angle between 450and 550 will significantly increase the chances of a successful shot (Knudson, 1993). Ball shot with these trajectories have a better chance of passing through the basket than shot with a flatter release angle. Shots closer to the basket or shot from shorter player will require release angle in the upper range of desirable angles (Hudson, 1985).Hence it can be said that the ball should be released as high as possible, since the higher the ball is released the less time it is in the air to the basket and the less time it has to move off target. Release height is related to height of the player, amount of trunk extension, shoulder flexion and elbow extension at release, and whether the shooter leaves the ground during release. Also, less time in the air is related to a lower velocity at release, so joint range of motion is smaller and release time is decreased. Elite shooters have been found to have a higher release point and less trunk inclination than less skilled shooters (Hudson 1982; Hudson 1985).

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Biomechanics, L.N.I.P.E., Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh (India)