The 15th CRI Pumps Trophy all India basketball tournament for women, which concluded at the VOC Park Corporation Sports Complex courts here on Wednesday, served as an ideal platform for the Coimbatore girls to showcase their skills in front of the home town crowd.
The girls cashed in on the chance that came their way and pulled out their best for the big-time event. Of course, it took some time for them to settle down but once they did they scored freely against some of the best teams in the country.
The team’s best effort came against South East Central Railway (Bilaspur). It was a close contest and only a point (72-71) separated the two teams. Osheen Navindran scored 19 pts and S. Shreyanka and M. Keerthi tallied14 points apiece for the host team.
“We did not play the matches under any pressure because we were the underdogs,” said C.L. Rini, the Coimbatore captain, a junior India star eager to fly high at the senior level.
“I just asked my girls to go out and enjoy each game,” she added.
The team’s coach, S. Ramkumar, was pleased with the performance of his wards. “They played with lots of courage.”
The ten-day training at the R.K. Sreerangammal courts here helped the girls to do well in this tournament. But the team would have performed even better had the training been for a longer period.
Ramkumar said the team, which had lots of colours (junior India and senior national players) had the caliber to surprise even the best on their day. “We have a full team [12 players]. It is a mix of school and college going girls. Age wise they can be categorized but when it comes to skills they are all equal.”
For the team, defense is its main strength. “But they have the speed and experience as well. It is a combination of everything,” he added. However, for the girls, exposure, such as this one, is the need of the hour. A single tournament in the city may not be enough to climb up the ladder of success, be it in the State or in the country.
They say while the boys enjoy 40 or more tournaments a year in the district they get to play only a handful.
They don't understand the reason behind it. “We have the JASA all-India tournament but it is only for collegiate teams. But the CRI Trophy in the city is one big opportunity,” said P. Breethi, the manager of the team.
“We also need good coaches such as Ramkumar to train the team,” she added.
She pointed out that if there are more tournaments it can create job opportunities as well. “Also, more parents must start sending their girls to play. They are doing it slowly but they should understand sports can help them in a big way in life.
The team thanked the district association for giving them this rare platform to perform.
The girls cashed in on the chance that came their way and pulled out their best for the big-time event. Of course, it took some time for them to settle down but once they did they scored freely against some of the best teams in the country.
The team’s best effort came against South East Central Railway (Bilaspur). It was a close contest and only a point (72-71) separated the two teams. Osheen Navindran scored 19 pts and S. Shreyanka and M. Keerthi tallied14 points apiece for the host team.
“We did not play the matches under any pressure because we were the underdogs,” said C.L. Rini, the Coimbatore captain, a junior India star eager to fly high at the senior level.
“I just asked my girls to go out and enjoy each game,” she added.
The team’s coach, S. Ramkumar, was pleased with the performance of his wards. “They played with lots of courage.”
The ten-day training at the R.K. Sreerangammal courts here helped the girls to do well in this tournament. But the team would have performed even better had the training been for a longer period.
Ramkumar said the team, which had lots of colours (junior India and senior national players) had the caliber to surprise even the best on their day. “We have a full team [12 players]. It is a mix of school and college going girls. Age wise they can be categorized but when it comes to skills they are all equal.”
For the team, defense is its main strength. “But they have the speed and experience as well. It is a combination of everything,” he added. However, for the girls, exposure, such as this one, is the need of the hour. A single tournament in the city may not be enough to climb up the ladder of success, be it in the State or in the country.
They say while the boys enjoy 40 or more tournaments a year in the district they get to play only a handful.
They don't understand the reason behind it. “We have the JASA all-India tournament but it is only for collegiate teams. But the CRI Trophy in the city is one big opportunity,” said P. Breethi, the manager of the team.
“We also need good coaches such as Ramkumar to train the team,” she added.
She pointed out that if there are more tournaments it can create job opportunities as well. “Also, more parents must start sending their girls to play. They are doing it slowly but they should understand sports can help them in a big way in life.
The team thanked the district association for giving them this rare platform to perform.