She is an all-rounder. Having competed at various levels in several sports, including roller skating, netball and cue sports as well as basketball, Shireen Limaye is a multi-talented youngster, but the 16-year-old says her heart beats most for basketball.
At an age when most children are still learning to stand on their own feet, this toddler was already a regular face on the basketball courts. Her mother was a basketball player and a coach at PYC Hindu Gymkhana, Pune, so leaving her six- or seven-month-old child alone at home was not an option. Shireen Limaye therefore started going to the courts with her mother, Suvarna Vijay Limaye, and so began her journey into sport at a very tender age.
Coming from a family with sport in its veins, it was only natural for Shireen to be drawn to it, and growing up in a sporting atmosphere helped her master the skills of a variety of sports, including roller skating, netball and cue sports as well as basketball, in which she has already represented various teams at different levels.
Venturing into billiards, snooker and roller skating
Billiards and snooker began for her at PYC Hindu Gymkhana, Pune, and she started competing at the age of five. She took up cue sports alongside roller skating, in which she won a couple of state championships in the under-6 age group.
“We had a national tournament and an Asian snooker championship at our club, PYC Hindu Gymkhana, Pune. I used to go and watch players like Devendra Joshi, Geet Sethi and Pankaj Advani, and I was highly inspired by them. I started playing snooker when I was 10. My snooker coach, Satish Amarnath, who is one of the best coaches in India, taught me very patiently. I took part in the Indore Nationals in 2008, when I was 13, and won a silver medal in the under-21 snooker category. I also took part in the national snooker championship the next year and was ranked third in India. I also won the silver medal in billiards,” Shireen told ISN.
All this while she never neglected her basketball practice and was a regular on the PYC Hindu Gymkhana courts.
Indian netball team and the CWG 2010 spell
Netball was an understandable choice, as her mother, besides being a basketball coach, is a netball enthusiast. The first time she played netball was alongside her mother in a senior state championship. She then attended the netball trials for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Gandhinagar and was selected. After that she played a series against Singapore, the Under-21 Asian Championship and the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.
Commitment versus choice
“When I was selected for CWG netball, I didn’t know I had also been selected for the under-16 Indian team for the FIBA event. However, Gurbir Singh, president of the Netball Federation of India, and the coaches kept their faith in me and waited for me to finish the FIBA tournament. I joined the CWG netball camp two days after the FIBA Asia basketball tournament. That was a commitment for me. It was never a matter of choice. Basketball is and always will be my first priority,” said Shireen.
Her basketball journey, which started long ago, has now moved to another level. She has played in a number of national tournaments, such as the Savio Cup, the Federation Cup and the Youth Nationals, and after these she has become a familiar name on the basketball circuit. Her performances earned her a place on the women’s probables list for the William Jones Cup in Chinese Taipei, the FIBA Asia Championship in Japan, and the World U-18 and 3×3 games in Italy, all at once.
The breakthrough came when she was declared the best rebounder at the Asian Under-16 Basketball Championship, held at the Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune in December 2009.
Senior team calling
With roller skating and billiards taking a back seat for now, Shireen reached another milestone by being part of the Indian senior women’s team and the youth team at the same time. She was the youngest member of the senior team that took part in a tournament in Japan.
“Being the youngest in the senior team is a very good feeling. I got all the help I needed from my senior teammates and learned a lot from them. Now I will join the under-16 camp for the FIBA Asia Women’s Championship, to be held in China in December, in a few days. There my role will be totally different,” added Shireen.
“Shireen is really explosive on the court. She is blessed with athletic ability. I see an undying passion in her and her future is definitely bright,” said Prashanti Singh, a senior team member.
Her support system
She idolises her mother, who was her very first coach. Suvarna Vijay Limaye was a fine player herself and now coaches at PYC Hindu Gymkhana, Pune.
“She has been a constant support throughout. I have watched her play since I started understanding the game. She has taught me a lot. She is my best friend too. I can share everything with her. The entire credit for whatever little I have achieved goes to her,” said the 16-year-old.
“I am definitely very happy to see my daughter succeed at this young age, but I know that with it comes a great responsibility on our shoulders to keep her grounded and make sure she does not lose focus. So far we have managed that, and she too is a very mature and disciplined player, so she understands things very quickly,” said Suvarna Vijay Limaye.
Shireen’s family have motivated and pushed her over the years to help her reach where she is today. She grew up watching her brother Animish, who has been a fine skater, basketball player and netball player. Her father, Vijay Limaye, was a national-level swimmer.
A lover of music and Kathak dance, Shireen is currently doing her schooling through the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), as for the past two years she has been away from home so much that it was not possible to attend school.
“I managed to pass my 10th board exam pretty well, and my family has given me good support to push me further. It’s so good to share all my interests with my family,” added the 5ft 10½in player.
A bright prospect
Just 16, Shireen has spent most of her growing years on the PYC courts, and her determination and passion for the game have served her well so far. She wants to play in the WNBA someday, which is her ultimate aim as a basketball player.
When asked whether she would like to return to the other sports in which she has excelled, she said: “No, right now I don’t have any plans to play netball or cue sports. But I do want to keep practising snooker, because I like it and it helps me develop my concentration. My weakness on court is my ball control. But I am working on it and I will soon be good at ball control too.”
“She has tremendous potential, and I want to work on her skills, combine both and make her a devil on court who never gives up,” said Shiba Maggon, coach of the under-16 women’s team.
Indian basketball needs promising players like her to raise the country’s level in the future.
By Akshi Aggarwal
Indian Sports News
