Shiksha holds court with style

MUMBAI: She is short, quick and one of the pillars of the Kendriya Vidyalaya School (Powai) girls basketball team.

Six months ago, Shiksha Bali returned to Mumbai after ten long years but this seemingly short time frame was enough to convince her coach to play her in the Open tournaments so that their game could be improved.

Thanks to 16-year-old Bali's efforts, KVS fielded a girls team in the ongoing XVIII State Bank of India-Bombay YMCA Open basketball tournament. Not many gave them a chance as they took the court for their first match against hosts Ghatkopar YMCA on Friday.

But Shiksha had other ideas. She scored eleven points in her team's 25-22 win and this, without fully playing the third and fourth quarters as she fouled out.

This Kobe Bryant fan is the most seasoned player in her team with five years experience. But basketball wasn't her chosen sport.

"Athletics always excited me but my coach suggested that I play basketball," she says. Incredibly, her short height was considered an advantage, "which would help to be quick". "And by the time I could return to athletics, I fell in love with basketball. Just didn't feel like leaving the sport," she says.

And how did the KVS team happen?

"We always used to play the inter-school tournaments (Kendriya Vidyalaya), which I knew would not improve our game. So I convinced my coach to allow us to play in Open tournaments," she says. The coach then asked her to get together six girls to make a team and the team is now playing in their second Open tournament.

Even the coach Sujit More is all praise for Shiksha. "She is one of the best players I have come across. She sometimes steals the game away when the situation looks bleak," he says.

Ask her about her parents' contribution and her eyes light up.

"They have always supported me. They even sent me to play the nationals earlier this year when my mid-term exams were scheduled," she says.