Gaining ground for WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Photo: Sheikh Mehedi Morshed

Growing up in Dhaka, sporting guard and former captain of the Bangladesh Women's National Basketball Team, Ashreen Mridha, was first introduced to the sport by her father, who organised sports events at her school. She came by a group of girls who were also interested in basketball and they began practicing together at the Bangladesh Basketball Federation's training academy.

As a member of the national team, Ashreen participated in six international events, including the first South Asian Women's Basketball Championship in 2016. She captained the Kolkata-Bangladesh friendly series in India the same year. Ashreen is an NSU graduate, currently working as a brand manager of marketing for Unilever Bangladesh Limited.

"I have been engaged in Bangladesh's basketball scene since the formation of the national team in 2009," explains Ashreen. "I believe the way our women are making their mark in cricket and football is commendable. However, in basketball, we really do not have any role models to look up to. Women's involvement in basketball needs more visibility in our country and to be highlighted in the mainstream sports scene." Ashreen hopes to empower and enable women to play basketball irrespective of background, ethnicity or age. 

The lack of competitive tournaments, safe and accessible basketball grounds and funding are some of the multitude of hurdles Ashreen and most of the girls playing basketball face. "As a sport, basketball requires infrastructure. We hardly have any public courts to play basketball in," says Ashreen. "Beyond school and college, most girls struggle to find a place to continue playing, which is generally why they stop pursuing it after a point." One other key challenge, Ashreen believes, is making basketball accessible to women in rural areas. Barring ones in Dhaka and Chattogram, there are barely any open basketball courts available. Furthermore, when deciding whether to invest in the men's team or women's team, predictably, men get the first preference. "There are also no female basketball coaches in Bangladesh," Ashreen adds.

Taking matters into her own hands, Ashreen, along with a few other girls, founded Deshi Ballers, a Facebook group with female basketball players in Dhaka. Members communicate all news and information related to basketball in the group to facilitate women's participation in the sport. They have further set up two zones, one in Abahani Indoor Court and the other in Gulshan Youth Club where girls can play on a weekly-basis.

Adding yet another feather in her cap, Ashreen became the first Bangladeshi basketball player to join the Global Sports Mentoring Program (GSMP), funded by ESPN and the US Department of State. The GSMP is a five-week programme which takes place in the USA, conducted by professors from the Center for Sports, Peace and Society at the University of Tennessee. This year, there were 15 female delegates from 14 different countries. After the programme, Ashreen received an educational degree in Sports Management from the University of Tennessee, and a Sports Diplomacy Award from the US Department of State. She also had the opportunity to meet top female executives and athletes from the sports industry in the USA. "The programme has given me the credibility to finally be able to do something to develop basketball for women in Bangladesh," says an elated Ashreen.