KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 28

Sadina Shrestha may have many identities but it will be fitting if she is called the face and voice of Nepali women’s basketball. She is made for basketball and the sport is everything for her.

Shrestha used to play football and she turned to basketball after she was deprived of a deserving opportunity at one stage and that became the turning point for the 30-year-old athlete. Actually, there was no looking back for Shrestha, who belongs to a sporting family.

She has already spent 15 years for Nepali basketball and she is currently the skipper of the women’s team.

Shrestha led the national team to runner-up finish in the 13th South Asian Games held on home soil in December last year. The silver medal fell in shadow as Nepal produced 51 gold medals in the regional sporting extravaganza but Shrestha was vocal enough to tell the story behind the historic success.

Nepal had made their maiden appearance in women’s basketball in the South Asian sporting jamboree and the team reached the summit before being stopped by India in the final. For obvious reasons, the achievement of the women’s team could not get attention from stakeholders and media.

But it was Shrestha who kept on telling everyone that the success of the women’s basketball team was no less than other athletes.

It was natural for the players to get heartbreaking after the loss against India in the final but Shrestha did not let her teammates remain in sad mood. It was her positive attitude and true leadership that changed the environment of the covered hall and everyone was celebrating the success of the team. Shrestha always keeps her team and teammates ahead when it comes to giving credit and that is the best part of her leadership.

The outspoken Shrestha was nominated in the People’s Choice category under the Pulsar Sports Award and she gave the credit to her team. “I am nominated for the award but this is the achievement of our team,” said the powerful forward, who bagged two more silver medals last year — eighth National Games with Bagmati Province and Women’s Basketball League with Samriddhi Gorillas.

Shrestha is in fray for the prestigious award along with four other athletes — swimmer Gaurika Singh, footballer Sabitra Bhandari, volleyball player Aruna Shahi and karateka Monday Kaji Shrestha. The winner will be decided through the public votes and votes of national coaches and the members of the Nepal Sports Journalists Forum, the organisers of the Award.

The 17th edition of the Award is scheduled for January 12 next year at the karate covered hall in Lalitpur.

The Award features 10 categories — Player of the year (male), PoY (female) and PoY (youth), coach of the year, People’s Choice, Para-athlete, Special, Lifetime Achievement, Team of the Year and International Asian Sports Journalist.