In a first, the Tamil Nadu Basketball Association has constituted a Women’s Progress Wing heading by former national basketball player Aashritha Devi Talluri. The wing has been aimed at providing a platform for the women players to address their concerns and at the development of the game for women.
The wing, working at the grassroots level, will aim to bridge the gap between the players, their concerns and the association. “Our girls have been doing well and we have a lot of talent in the state. We cannot let that go a waste because of some issues that the players might have, which might have gone unaddressed that acts as a catalyst for them quitting the game. This wing is a platform where they can look up to, even anonymously, to make sure the women are also being given equal importance,” Aashritha said, on the sidelines of announcing the state teams for the National Championship.
According to Aashritha, the wing helps in bringing transparency to how various issues are addressed. “I was a player myself and that makes it easy for me to understand their issues. I have an all women eight member team and I was doing this informally, for the last six months or so and then we decided to take this up formally We have brainstorming sessions on ideas and concerns and they are heard by the association and acted upon. This ensures transparency too. The first step in it was to brainstorm and have the same coach for both the men and the women’s team,” she explained.
The aim of the wing is to nurture the women’s team into a force to be reckoned with. “The senior and the youth women have excelled in the game by qualifying in the division A of the FIBA Asia Cup. The next aim is to win the Asia Cup. The association is well aware of the potential of the girls. We are focussed on giving the women equal importance so that they can also grow at a rapid pace,” Aashritha added.
The wing also has a network of basketball scouts, who are appointed in all major districts to tap talent.
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