The Singh sisters are talented and passionate about basketball, and their looks have also added glamour to the game. They are the glamour girls of Indian women’s basketball, attracting attention for their sporting ability and adding an oomph factor on court. Popularly known as the Singh sisters, they have been making waves with their dunking skills and have already been offered roles in a commercial film on basketball, which is due to go into production soon.
Prashanti, Akansha and Pratima are the famous sisters who are turning heads with their looks and have been instrumental in making the game popular with their skills. They are passionate about basketball and are also aware that their looks can add value to the game and attract youngsters to become hoopsters.
“Yes, we have been offered roles in a commercial film on basketball, which is to be made soon. The deal is finalised and all three of us are going to be part of the same project. We hope this endeavour makes the game more popular,” says Prashanti, the third of five sisters, all of whom play basketball.
Five sisters from Varanasi
The two elder sisters, Priyanka and Divya, no longer play competitively but were instrumental in bringing the trio into basketball. The happy-go-lucky sisters took up the sport in Varanasi. The eldest, Priyanka, guided the others into the game under coach Amarjeet Singh. With their sharp skills, four of them, including Divya, made the Uttar Pradesh state team. In 2002 MTNL offered jobs to two of the siblings, Divya and Prashanti, and they moved to Delhi.
Divya Singh, who is now a qualified coach, played for India for several years and captained the Indian team at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games. She was also only the second player after Geethu Anna Jose to receive an offer to play in an international league, in Chile in 2008.
Prashanti captained the Indian team at the Guangzhou Asian Games, a squad that also included Akansha and Pratima. Under her leadership India won the silver medal at the 2009 Asian Indoor Games in Vietnam. Prashanti has also had offers from clubs in the Maldives and Australia but has turned them down, as her country comes first for her. Pratima and Akansha are pursuing master’s and bachelor’s degrees in physical education at IGI College, New Delhi.
“It was our sisters’ success that inspired us to take up basketball, and today it has become an essential part of our lives,” says Akansha, the second youngest of the five sisters, who come from a family with a strong academic background.
“Our father (Gauri Shankar Singh) works in a bank and our mother (Urmila Singh) was the vice-principal of a school in Varanasi. They always worried about our studies but never opposed our playing sport. Once we started performing, they became a source of encouragement, and this made things easier for us,” say the sisters, who are now used to playing together in the same team even at the highest level.
“It is very helpful, as we discuss our game right after every match. We don’t have to look to others for advice and opinions. We are each other’s best friends,” says Pratima, the youngest of the sisters, who find Delhi full of opportunities.
“Delhi is hip. We love the capital city.” But mention Varanasi and they become nostalgic. “That’s obvious – we grew up there,” they say.
A call for better support
The journey has been tremendous so far, and life without basketball is now almost impossible for them to imagine. However, they feel that the game is not a government priority and, though things have improved a great deal, India still lacks facilities and players are denied good infrastructure. “Proper, systematic training should be given to children right from the grassroots so that they grow up stronger and sharper and learn to adapt to changing situations on and off the court. The authorities concerned should take the lack of sponsorship and money seriously,” they say in unison, adding that life has changed for the better over the years.
“We enjoy our games, and each match gives us another chance to improve our performance, but at the same time there is a good deal of pressure we have to deal with. As children there was no pressure and we used to play more freely. We miss those days and the fun we had as kids. But life has changed a lot and a lot of responsibility has now fallen on our shoulders,” says Prashanti.
Facts and figures about the Singh sisters
Priyanka
- NIS graduate
- Coaching at a Sikh school in Bangkok
- NIS basketball coach; wife of Manish Kumar, also an NIS basketball coach
Divya
- Winner in Pool B at the FIBA Asia Championship for Women (3–10 June 2007, Incheon, South Korea)
- Currently studying sports management at the University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, and working as an assistant women’s basketball coach for UD
- Asian Basketball Championship, Korea (2007)
- Friendly match against New Zealand (2006)
- Commonwealth Championships, Australia (2006)
- Asian Basketball Championship, Bangkok (2005)
- Asian Basketball Championship, China (2004)
- Asian Basketball Championship, Japan (2003)
- Asian Basketball Championship, Chinese Taipei (2002)
- Asian Basketball Championship, Delhi (2000)
- Represented Uttar Pradesh at state level, 1996–2001
Prashanti
- 16th Asian Games, Guangzhou, China, 2010 (captain)
- Asian Indoor Games, Vietnam, 2009 – silver medal (captain)
- FIBA Asia Championship for Women, Chennai, 2009
- Asian Basketball Championship, Korea (2007)
- Friendly match against New Zealand (2006)
- Commonwealth Championships, Australia (2006)
- Asian Basketball Championship, Bangkok (2005)
- Asian Basketball Championship, China (2004)
- Asian Basketball Championship, Japan (2003)
- Asian Basketball Championship, Chinese Taipei (2002)
- Asian Basketball Championship, Delhi (2000)
- Represented Uttar Pradesh at state level, 1996–2001
Akansha
- Most Valuable Player in the first All India Mastan Basketball Professional League, Mumbai, Maharashtra, May 2010
- Best Player award in a league match in the MBPL, Mumbai, Maharashtra, May 2010
- Most Valuable Player at the All India Inter-University Basketball Tournament, Nellore, Andhra Pradesh, 2008
- Best Player award, Lady Shri Ram College for Women, New Delhi, 2008
- Asian Basketball Championship, Korea (2007)
- 18th FIBA Asia Championship for Junior Women, Bangkok (2007)
- Asian Basketball Championship for Young Women, Singapore (2006)
- Junior Championship, China (2004)
- Represented Uttar Pradesh at state level, 1999–2004
Pratima
- 16th Asian Games, China, 2010
- 24th FIBA Asia Championship for Women, Chennai, India, 2009
- 19th FIBA Asia Championship for Junior Girls, Medan, Indonesia, 2008 (captain)
- 18th FIBA Asia Championship for Junior Women, Bangkok (2007)
- Asian Basketball Championship for Young Women, Singapore (2006)
- Represented Uttar Pradesh at state level, 2003–2006
By Akshi Aggarwal
Indian Sports News
