Young, and making a mark

[1]

What qualifies a young girl to be counted among prominent women, and perhaps as a superstar among them? Talent, of course. And, the (young) age can only be a silly reason for anyone to not treat such a girl’s achievements on par with those having the highest levels of skill and maturity. So, this Women’s Day, we take you through the lives of three girls who have given a graceful distinction to their respective fields of sports and raised the stakes for both men and women alike.

Asha S. represents a sport that is much popular among all sections of the society, but one that has not had a young woman representing Kerala for long. She is a cricketer and as the odds would suggest, Asha hasn’t had many predecessors.

“In Kerala, we have a number of women in athletics and volleyball, and they all have somebody to look up to. But it has been difficult so far for a woman to emerge as a cricketer here,” says Asha, senior India probable.

The 21-year-old Thiruvananthapuram girl, employed with the Railways, has been one of the best woman cricketer the state has ever produced, and she has emerged a long time after the likes of Vilasini, who once represented India A. Having failed to make the cut to the West Indies tour, though, Asha is the only Malayali woman in the Indian camp who is hopeful of representing the country soon. Well, what a proud achievement it will be!

Sometimes, affection becomes an obsession and subsequently a passion. K. S. Poojamol’s basketball career can be described as one such. Or else, Troy Justice, the director of operations for NBA India, could not have named her as the successor to Geethu Anna Jose who had taken trials with the WNBA. “She is a talented player in basketball, and she has that natural basketball brain. She will go a long way.”

This was the response of Troy Justice as he evaluated her performance in the NBA championship.
A humble Poojamol is overjoyed. “I have long wished to play like Geethu. Her achievements are laudable and I want to follow her footsteps. I would love to play in WNBA,” the 15-year-old Kottayam girl reveals her dream.

Pooja, who started to play basketball along with her sister and Central Railway player K. S. Anu, is one of the grooming talents in the state’s basketball. She has represented India in the Asian Basketball Championship held in China recently and is back from the Indian Junior camp to take the Class X exams. “I will be going back to the camp after the exams, most probably; or else I will play some tournaments here. Anyway, I have decided to take up basketball as my career,” she says.

Finally, it’s time to meet the youngest of them, who also happens to be the most successful. Maria Rony, the table tennis prodigy, has become a household name after her fairytale success in the Global Cadet Challenge Table Tennis tournament in Peurto Rico. “I want to improve my skills, and be like my role model — Zhang Yining, one of the greatest players ever,” says Maria.

The symbol of this 14-year-old Alappuzha girl’s success is on display in the showcase of her house — a gold medal from the world.