Citation: Rahman, M. H., & Islam, M. S (2021). Immediate Effect of Mental Imagery Training on Accuracy of Basketball Free Throws in Bangladesh. J Adv Sport Phys Edu, 4(4): 68-72. 68 Journal of Advances in Sports and Physical Education Abbreviated Key Title: J Adv Sport Phys Edu ISSN 2616-8642 (Print) |ISSN 2617-3905 (Online) Scholars Middle East Publishers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Journal homepage: https://saudijournals.com Original Research Article Immediate Effect of Mental Imagery Training on Accuracy of Basketball Free Throws in Bangladesh Md. Hamidur Rahman 1* , Muhammad Shahidul Islam 2 1 Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Education and Sports Science, Jashore University of Science and Technology, Jashore, Bangladesh 2 Research Scholar, Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan, West Bengal, India DOI: 10.36348/jaspe.2021.v04i04.004 | Received: 26.02.2021 | Accepted: 10.04.2021 | Published: 15.04.2021 *Corresponding author: Md. Hamidur Rahman Email: hamid.just@yahoo.com Abstract Mental imagery (MI) training is a useful experience to improve basketball free-throw (FT) shooting accuracy. The purpose of this study was to examine the immediate effect of mental imagery training on the improvement of free-throw shooting accuracy in basketball. Twenty (20) male basketball players were randomly selected as subjects. All subjects were randomly assigned into two groups: the experimental group (n=10) and the control group (n=10). A pre-test and post-test were given to every subject and each subject performed ten (10) free throws. For statistical analyses, the average values of these ten (10) free throws were used. There was a single conduct session (MI) with the experimental group lasting about ten minutes. Descriptive statistics, inferential statistics- dependent t-test, and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were applied in the study, and the level of significance was p<0.05 and p<0.01. Paired sample t-test of the experimental group ware statistically significant (p<0.01) and the control group was also statistically significant (p<0.05) difference between pre-test and post-test values. However, the mean values of the post-test showed that the experimental group (mean number of successful free throws = 7.30) had a higher average number of free-throw shooting accuracy than the control group (mean number of successful free throws = 6.50). In conclusion, this study indicates that basketball players may benefit from mental imagery training to improve their free throw shooting accuracy. Keywords: Mental Imagery, Training, Free Throw, Shooting Accuracy, Basketball. Copyright © 2021 The Author(s): This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium for non-commercial use provided the original author and source are credited. INTRODUCTION The mind is the driving force of action because it controls the limbs of the human body. Through the power of imagination, one can portray an image of objects and can visualize the real objects or events. Such representation of objects or events in the mind is termed mental imagery. This imagery is a multisensory immersive procedure that uses as many senses as possible to create and process a mental image without using external stimuli. In most athletic events, the state in which people imagine themselves while influencing abilities to cope with upcoming duties or improve performance is referred to as imagery [1]. However, it helps to mould a lasting impression on the mind creating the real picture of objects or events. Deliberation, ready wit, retentive power of the mind is playing vital roles in this regard. After all, mental imagery leads to slowness, quickness, the right timing of real activity by giving birth to intelligibility and adaptability to the instant situation as happens in games and sports. In this connection, one study demonstrates the importance of a comprehensive clinical evaluation or management of binocular vision in sports, stressing the significance of a thorough clinical evaluation or management of binocular vision in sports. Besides, the accuracy of basketball free throws is based on binocular vision [2]. Mental imagery [1] is denoted as “a symbolic sensory experience that may occur in any sensory mode” [3]. Researchers [4] stated that the faster the stimulus reaches the motor cortex, the faster the response time will be. There are two kinds of mental skills training methods: Mental rehearsal, mental imagery and imagination, visuomotor action rehearsal, and cognitive-behavior therapy are also examples of cognitive methods. Biofeedback, progressive muscle relaxing, and meditation is examples of somatic