Geethu In the big league WNBL
Sunday, October 5, 2008
India’s Geethu Anna Jose is the first woman from the country to play for an Australian club in the WNBL. Geethu Anna Jose’s entry into the illustrious Women’s National Basketball League in Australia might have gone largely unnoticed, but being the first Indian woman to embrace the distinction, Geethu is geared up to prove her mettle in the big league.
Having signed the contract with Dandenong Rangers late last month, Geethu is fully aware that the circuit is exceedingly demanding.
“This is one of the best basketball leagues in the world. While I still feel this a dream, I know that the league will be tough to play in and that I will have to be at my best in every match to succeed.
I take this as an opportunity to improve myself,” observes the unassuming 6’2” pivot.
The 23-year-old reckons that her earlier two-season stint with the Australian second division club Ringwood Hawks will prove beneficial. “Making the transition from the second division to the top league won’t be easy. But my experience with Hawks will certainly stand me in good stead. I have observed a few first division matches and have also trained with WNBL clubs like BuleenBoomers,” points out Geethu, who was in Chennai in early September for the Tamil Nadu State Basketball Championship.
The 2006 Commonwealth Games was her first big breakthrough. Though India finished no higher than sixth, the 23- year-old won the Most Valuable Player award, besides the top scorer, best rebounder and best shot blocker prizes in the tournament.
Impressed with her performance, Ringwood Hawks signed her. To her credit and perseverance, Geethu swiftly found her feet Down Under.
“Initially, it was a bit tough, but I kept working hard. The league is fast- paced and rugged. It was easier once I had adjusted to the pace,” she said.
In 2007, the second-division club won all the matches in which she played and qualified for the league’s final knockout phase. But Geethu couldn’t participate in the final phase as she had not played a minimum of seven league matches.
Meanwhile, she was in India helping Railways maintain their supremacy in the domestic circuit. “Juggling my roles in two teams was taxing as minor niggles crept in every now and again. Importantly, I took sufficient medication and rest so that nothing aggravated into a major injury.
Besides, you really have to focus to keep the intensity going,” she says.
Without Geethu, the Hawks faltered and eventually finished sixth. However, Geethu was adjudged the Player of the Month in August 2007 and was one of the 18 top players selected to train with the Buleen Boomers, an Australian women’s national basketball league side, for a month in September.
Though she was dejected that she couldn’t take her side to the top flight, she relishes her sojourn with the club. “I’ve improved in all departments of my game, especially in fitness and rebound-collection. The Australians are physically tougher and are at you all the time.
Excelling in such conditions gives me a lot of confidence,” she informs.
On the sidelines, speculation is rife that a Chilean club approached her and that she could join the WNBA league in the US. But Geethu, who was reluctant to leave the Hawks, before she realised that invitations from top Australian clubs wouldn’t beckon her too often, dismisses such talk. “I would have liked to help Hawks reach the senior division, but one doesn’t get too many opportunities to play for sides such as Dandenong Rangers, which finished fourth last season. Now it is up to me to optimise this opportunity,” she says.
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