Poonam Chaturvedi, female basketball player from Chhattisgarh shines again at the National Championship. Despite severe pain due to a tumour in her head, she registered a promising performance in all the matches she played this year.
19 years old Poonam Chaturvedi is all set to be a national sporting hero.
Suffering from a brain tumour she was diagnosed with in early 2014, her relentless attitude is helping her shine in her sport, basketball.
She was forced to undergo various treatments and missed many orientation and training sessions, but this didn’t deter her spirits. Despite all odds, she registered a spectacular performance in the National Women’s Basketball Championship held in Rajasthan.
In the final match against Delhi, Poonam representing Chhattisgarh credited 28 points to her name in an 84-75 point match. Her valiant contribution led Chhattisgarh to victory and she was also awarded the ‘Player of the tournament’ title for scoring the highest points in the overall championships. She scored a total of 178 points in seven games.
This success doesn’t come easy to her; the constant pain in her head troubles her a lot and she was forced to defend in the last stages of the match. Although, she is constantly struggling with pain, her ‘never say die’ attitude propels her further into the record books.
She has another laurel to her name, she has been adjudged the tallest female basketball player in India at 6’11″. Thanks to her God-gifted height, dunking the ball is a piece of cake for her. Her staggering height is what made selectors notice her during trials at Kanpur, her birthplace. She is almost as tall as professional NBA players.
Poonam’s father ShriramChaturvedi is a constable with the Uttar Pradesh Police. Her family plans to get her treated at NIMHANS hospital in Bangalore. NIMHANS is famous for its specialized line of radiation machines which can help treat the tumour located in the central part of her head. Her coach Rajesh Patel assures she will be fine once the procedure is successfully completed.
The Basketball Federation of India and the Bhilai Steel Plant have undertaken a promise to bear the entire medical expenses of Poonam’s treatment.
Poonam is eligible for the NBA Draft in the year 2017. She will be a reckoning force for the other NBA players, if selected for the NBA.
Way to go India!
