CHENNAI: When Sruthy Rathinavel played basketball in class 10 for the first time, little did she know that the sport would become an inseparable part of her life. She went on to win many laurels, and was also the only person from Tamil Nadu to get selected and participate in the recent Asian Games 2023 held in Hangzhou, China. “I was in Madurai, my native place, when I played basketball for the first time. Later on, I went to play Junior Nationals which paved the path for everything that followed,” says Sruthy. The 22-year-old shares her journey and dreams with CE.
Hoops and hurdles
Sruthy is currently pursuing her final year of MA in Public Policy at MOP Vaishnav College for Women and has been balancing academics and sports since the beginning. “When I played for the Junior Nationals during my tenth standard, Madurai Yadava College’s basketball coach Sampath sir noticed me. Since then he has been my coach,” shares Sruthy. She shifted to Chennai and joined Lady Sivaswamy Ayyar Girls’ Higher Secondary School, Mylapore, to continue her sports career while studying. With encouragement from her teachers and family, she kept going. “In school, teachers used to be very encouraging. Even though I was an average student, they would give me extra classes to help me keep up with the portions,” she says.
While she was doing well in her studies and the sport, a personal tragedy struck her. Her father passed away in 2019, during the second year of her graduation at MOP College. “Amma passed away when I was in seventh standard. My appa, M Rathinavel is my role model. He was a hockey player and it was his dream to play for the country. I wanted to fulfill his dream, and make my brother Venkat proud,” she says.
Every day Sruthy practises for three to four hours, sometimes more. “From Monday to Saturday, we practise from 6 am to 9 am and then 4 pm to 6 pm. Sundays are off. Naan vandhu joliya velayadiyittiruken (I am playing and having a lot of fun),” she says.
International recognition
Her goal of making her parents proud became a reality when she was selected for the Asian Games. “We are happy that we won two matches,” she says, adding that the country needs to encourage more young basketball players as there is not much recognition for the sport compared to others. “It was a learning experience. We felt like the international teams were well-trained and stayed very calm and humble throughout the wins. It was definitely something to take from them,” she says.
Sruthy receives financial aid from the college for her studies and accommodation. She has also been benefitting from her father’s pension for the past few months. “Our principal Archana Prasad, physical educator Amudha ma’am, our college secretary Sonthalia sir, my coaches Sampath sir, Rani ma’am and Raja sir have been supporting me. I am very grateful to them,” she shares.
In the long run, she hopes to represent the country in several tournaments. But, her immediate goal is to secure a job. She says, “There should be more job opportunities in the state, especially for women. For men, there are a lot of opportunities in EB, IOB, IT, and ICF. For women, it is usually an opportunity in the Southern Railways. Only if we get jobs, the kids who come to the field by seeing us will get motivated.”
To help Sruthy financially, contact 8248348132.