Tweet
Chennai, Apr 21 (PTI) Ace women''s basketball player Geethu Anna Jose is confident of becoming the first Indian to play in professional league in the United States as she is set to leave for the ''tryouts'' by three American teams.
Kottayam-born Geethu is leaving for the US on Saturday for the ''tryouts'' stint with the WNBA teams Chicago Sky, Los Angeles Sparks and San Antonio Silver Stars.
"I am confident of performing well in the tryouts which will be the basis of my selection to play alongside world''s best professional league players for the season in June-July," the Southern Railway employee said at a function here.
Geethu, who inaugurated a new basketball court at the residence of U S Consul General here Andrew Simkin by shooting a ceremonial first shot, said her travel and other expenses were being funded by Hindustan Group of Educational Institutions.
Troy Justice, Director-India operations for the U S National Basketball Association (NBA), who was present at the function, hailed Geethu for her performances in the Asian Basketball Championships and Asian Games.
"Geethu was the leading scorer at the Asian Basketball Championship (ABC) in Chennai in 2009 and became the first Indian player to win the top scorer honor at any ABC. She has represented India in several major tournaments, including the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Australia and the 2010 Asian Games basketball championship in Guangzhou (China)," Troy said.
Geethu has won seven consecutive national basketball championship titles representing Indian Railways. She was also the first Indian woman to play professionally in Australia, when she represented the Ringwood Hawks, a lower division team in the Women''s National Basketball League (WNBL) from 2006 to 2008, and won the league''s Most Valuable Player award in 2008.
K Ramajayam, Secretary Tamil Nadu Basketball Association said eight-court state-of-the-art academy for basketball will be started in Thiruchirapplli shortly and coaches from United States will impart training to up and coming stars.
Former Indian captains of men and women teams, Jayashankar Menon and Prasanna Kumari respectively were also present at the function.
Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text Feed | Amazon Affiliate
Kottayam-born Geethu is leaving for the US on Saturday for the ''tryouts'' stint with the WNBA teams Chicago Sky, Los Angeles Sparks and San Antonio Silver Stars.
"I am confident of performing well in the tryouts which will be the basis of my selection to play alongside world''s best professional league players for the season in June-July," the Southern Railway employee said at a function here.
Geethu, who inaugurated a new basketball court at the residence of U S Consul General here Andrew Simkin by shooting a ceremonial first shot, said her travel and other expenses were being funded by Hindustan Group of Educational Institutions.
Troy Justice, Director-India operations for the U S National Basketball Association (NBA), who was present at the function, hailed Geethu for her performances in the Asian Basketball Championships and Asian Games.
"Geethu was the leading scorer at the Asian Basketball Championship (ABC) in Chennai in 2009 and became the first Indian player to win the top scorer honor at any ABC. She has represented India in several major tournaments, including the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Australia and the 2010 Asian Games basketball championship in Guangzhou (China)," Troy said.
Geethu has won seven consecutive national basketball championship titles representing Indian Railways. She was also the first Indian woman to play professionally in Australia, when she represented the Ringwood Hawks, a lower division team in the Women''s National Basketball League (WNBL) from 2006 to 2008, and won the league''s Most Valuable Player award in 2008.
K Ramajayam, Secretary Tamil Nadu Basketball Association said eight-court state-of-the-art academy for basketball will be started in Thiruchirapplli shortly and coaches from United States will impart training to up and coming stars.
Former Indian captains of men and women teams, Jayashankar Menon and Prasanna Kumari respectively were also present at the function.
Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text Feed | Amazon Affiliate
