Sreekala Rani was one of the Kerala players to steal the spotlight at the 70th senior national basketball championship that concluded in Ludhiana on Saturday. The senior women’s basketball team, of which she was a part of, bagged silver at the tournament. This 18-year-old athlete is currently the youngest member of the squad that includes many experienced players.
Hailing from Maruthur village in the city, Sreekala started as a handball player before venturing into basketball. “My teacher Reena Abraham advised me to switch to basketball. She felt that basketball held more opportunities for my career growth than handball,” she says. Playing forward for Kerala team, Sreekala is swift with her strikes. “I like to score 20-30 points in a game. Being a forward is comfortable for me,” she adds.
A graduate student at Mar Ivanios College, Thiruvananthapuram, Sreekala has already gain plenty of experience representing the country in international and national tournaments. She was part of the Indian team that came first in the 3x3 tournament at the 2019 South Asian Games held in Nepal. She also captained the Kerala team that won gold in the Junior Basketball Championship held in Patna, Bihar in October.
Sreekala credits her father Jayakumar B, a daily wage worker for her success. “My father used to ensure that I don’t miss a single practice session while I was in school. Due to the financial situation of our family, I used to struggle to pay vehicle fare. Things have improved after I started winning tournaments,” she said.
An ardent basketball fan, Jayakumar watches games regularly on television and gives feedback to his daughter. Rahul Krishnan, Leena Vincent, Manoj Xavier and Antony Stephen are the coaches Sreekala credits for helping her understand the game and its strategies. Having achieved her dream of playing for India, she now wants to get a job to make ends meet. Presently training under Thomas A J, her immediate focus is on doing well at Khelo Youth Games to be held in Assam in January.