Basketball
Padma Shri awardee basketball player Anitha Pauldurai finally gets her due
India’s most experienced women’s basketball player, and former captain of Indian women’s national basketball team Anitha Pauldurai, who holds the record of playing for the Indian national team for 18 years (2000-2017) is the first and only Indian woman to have played nine Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) championships continuously representing the national squad. Anitha on Monday was honoured with the Padma Shri award, India's fourth-highest civilian award.
Anitha, who has a record of winning 30 medals in Basketball National Championship, is the youngest ever to captain the senior national team at the age of 19 and went on to captain the side for eight years. In August 2012, she was selected to play for an international women professional league in Thailand. She has played a number of international tournaments including big-ticket events such as the Asian Championship, Commonwealth Games 2006 and Asian Games 2010. She also coached the Indian U-16 girls’ team. She nurses the opinion that although many Indian players get the opportunity to play outside, it won’t help the Indian basketball team to thrive unless Indian basketball has its own league.
