In a season celebrating Kim Clijsters’s Supermom charge at the US Open, Kazakhstan’s lesser known hoopster Anna Kucheryavykh — also a mother of a 14-year-old — believes sportswomen have confidently buried the restrictive idea of a shelf-life to their playing careers.

“I miss my kids a lot when I travel for tournaments, but I also have the cutest and chirpiest cheerleaders for my game, right at home,” says the 35-year-old member of the Kazakh squad here at the 23 rd FIBA Asian championship, who is mother to a teenaged daughter and a 3-year-old son.

Playing ball-handler for her team of marauding Kazakh hustlers, Anna played 26 minutes against Philippines, though coach Tatyana Kondius rotates her players as much as a matter of policy as preference. With her quick reflexes, she set up most of the offensive moves for her team, appearing tireless as she sauntered out after a 71-52 win.

“When on court, you are completely into the game. You forget you are 35,” she says. “But you get used to injuries and pains and niggles. Raising kids and maintaining your game becomes a breeze if you have the energy to give your all to both,” she adds.

Equally important

“Time’s not split and shredded between the two,” says the senior player. “In fact, because both are equally important, you tend to focus more on the job at hand. You live in the moment,” she says after 20 years of basketball, and 15 of a family life.

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