National pride keeps these women cagers on the hoop

For Shiba Maggon, the sight of the, chakra, embossed in her jersey gives her a kick. For 17 years the game has been more than a passion. Int...

For Shiba Maggon, the sight of the, chakra, embossed in her jersey gives her a kick. For 17 years the game has been more than a passion. Into her seventh year as player in the national women’s basketball team, she just has one word to describe her drive towards the game: ‘Pride’.

She epitomises confidence in the unit. She has stood behind the girls and has been the backbone of the women’s team, which has been sidelined by other disciplines, which she acknowledges straight away. But still all the girls carry on with inspiration provided by their senior. “We definitely do have problems regarding the improvement of the game and participation, but we are an improving a lot,” says Maggon.

The girls are here for a fifty-day camp at SAI Gandhinagar preceding the Commonwealth Games.In town for a friendly game at a school in the city, the team displayed how a win at Phuket invitational tournament in 2005 could build on the confidence factor in the team. Their next step: Commonwealth Games, Melbourne.

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“The win at Phuket, beating Thailand in the finals has been a shot-in-the-arm. It has clearly been a morale-booster. We went wild into celebrations after that win. Now we want more,” says Arnika

Gujar-Patil, another senior member in the team. Thailand stands above India in the Asia rankings. They seem to have clearly understood that more impressive wins will only help their cause in popularising the game among the girls.

For the game to improve, there has to be more active involvement of the sporting bodies in India. The girls definitely do see a change. “In the last two years there has been a marked improvement in the performance in the team. We have national camps thrice a year and we go for at least two invitational tournaments a year. That has given us more time to practice,” says Maggon.

They are also upbeat about the Serbian coach – in-charge of the men’s national team – who would take time off to give special sessions on the technicalities of the game.

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“The Serbian coach has given us very good inputs, which has been very helpful. He has also been one of the assistant coaches in the NBA league,” says P Anita.

The grassroot is also being well adhered too. “Nowadays in camps seniors get to play along with the juniors, which helps in improving their game. Earlier during my junior days, we never had that option,” says Maggon.

“In fact, there was in initiative of professional league last year, when six teams were divided among the girls and a league was held, which was covered by Doordarshan. We are hopeful of a new beginning,” adds Maggon.

The Commonwealth Games in Melbourne this year will herald it, as they will take on the likes of Australia, England and New Zealand for the first time. Despite all the problems regarding employment, finance and lack of popularity, these girls still believe that they can make their presence felt.

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Now the chakra in the jersey is infectious to the whole lot.

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