Circumstances once made Sandhya Manjunath a mere spectator to a sport dear to her heart. But even when she was forced to sit out and watch her friends score points on the court, she never lost hopes of becoming a basketball player. Driven by that desire, she has moved on to emerge as a talented hoopster, and her skills were on full view at the State Junior and Youth Championships in Bangalore recently.

Sandhya was in top form right through the championship. The Beagles captain played a key role in her team’s victories in crucial matches in the semifinal league of the youth championship.
It was mainly due to her superb performances against Viveknagar (28 points) and Jayanagar Sports Club (21) that Beagles won the youth title and in the junior meet, her efforts of 14 and 12 points against the same teams were crucial in her team’s triumph.

Good show
“She played really well in both the championships (junior and youth). It was her solo effort that brought us victory in the deciding match against Viveknagar in the youth meet. She also played very well in the junior championship,” said Beagles and State under-18 coach Mohan Kumar.

The 15-year-old, who enrolled for pre-university classes at the SBM Jain College of Commerce last week, took to basketball at the age of 12. In the very next year, she made it to the State youth (U-16) team. From then, she has represented the State in various age group tournaments. She was the member of the team that won the National youth title in 2005 in Jaisalmer (Rajasthan) and was the skipper when they retained the title in 2006 at Chhattisgarh. She also played in the National Schools meet in 2005 and 2006.

‘Loved basketball’
“Basketball was the sport I loved most from my early school days. But I was never allowed to take up any sport as my parents wanted me to concentrate on studies. Moreover, they didn’t have enough money to provide me with the required facilities. So I could participate only in school sports meets. But I used to watch my school mates practice,” said Sandhya, who passed SSLC from Nirmala Rani High School.

“One day, I talked to my school coach (Mohan Kumar) about my liking for basketball and the problems holding me back from taking up the game. He first convinced my parents and then got me enrolled into Beagles Sports Club. After that, the Club has looked after all my expenses for playing basketball till today,” Sandhya added.

She said that her father, G Manjunath, employee of a private firm, and mother, Girija, a housewife, gave full support to Sandhya after her entry into the State youth team.

“After I played in my first youth Nationals two years ago, I began to receive a lot of support from my parents. Now they are keen on me achieving something in sports,” she said.

Though only five-foot, two-inch tall, Sandhya said her height had never been a problem. In fact, that helped her to excel in her favourite position — as the team’s ball-handler, a fact acknowledged by her coach.
“Lack of height has not been a problem. She is donning the role of a ball-handler pretty well. She has the ability to give good passes but her strength lies in her speed,” said Mohan.

“With her dribbling skills she can pierce any defence. Surely, she has the talent to go a long way. She is a good player to have in the team,” the coach added.

Aiming higher
With her third and final stint at the Youth Nationals coming up in Lucknow from May 21, Sandhya is eyeing a spot in the higher grade from next year, while relishing the prospect of National duty in the future.
“From next year, I will be hoping to play the Junior Nationals and then be in the senior State team. I also dream of a place in the Indian team. But I also want to put an honest effort in my studies and would like to become a Chartered Accountant and have a go in the IAS exams too,” she signed off.