At 15, Saligao-based Saachia Nathan, has got the who’s who of the basketball fraternity of Goa, sit up and take notice of this emerging hoopster who is set to create Federation Cup history for being the youngest player ever to participate in the competition, be it in men’s or women’s categories since its inception
BASIL SYLVESTER PINTO
Panaji
An affable, soft-spoken lass off-court translates into a well-built, reliable young defensive guard on court. That is the precocious 15-year-old Saachia Nathan for you who has got the who’s who of the
basketball fraternity of Goa, sit up and take notice of this emerging hoopster.
The Saligao-based strapping basketballer is a grapevine delight these days for she is set to create Federation Cup history. The 5 ft 9 in girl is to enter her name in the record books as the youngest player ever to participate in the Federation Cup National Basketball Championship, be it in Men’s or Women’s categories since its inception.
She started out towards end of 2014, when her school basketball teacher at Lourdes Convent, Saligao, Helena Pinto took her under her tutelage when she was told by few other teachers of the institution that she was someone to take note of, and she thereon saw for herself , first-hand, that the girl was pretty tall and had the talent to play the game. What started as just an activity of shooting baskets during her P E period at school, while in Std VIII around October 2014, developed as something serious.
She began to go for coaching around then, under the wing of Pinto, before her school hours from as early as 6.45 am to 8 am she began to hone her innate basketball skills. A regular activity excepting that of Sundays saw her drawn increasingly towards the ‘Hoop Sport’ by the passing day. So much so, that she gradually began to encourage few of the other girls to come forward to play the game. This way, she formed a 10-member team for her school girls’ basketball team. While she admits they were not a strong team, the experience that they received in playing their first U-17 tourney which they bowed out in the first round against Chubby Cheeks was one to remember. Though the score-line went 14-5 against their favour, the two points she scored she gets nostalgic about in what she calls an experience match.
For a year on, though she did not play any tourney, but she furthered her game on the training received under the guidance of Pinto.
A year later, she got another exposure tourney to play for her school at the U-17 level whereby they
played Fr Agnel’s HSS in the first round sometime around July 2015. But this time, they had grown as a unit to lose only by 3 or 4 points.
“We did pretty well in the game. I had scored the first basket of the match from a jump ball which was passed by a team-mate which she passed back. An opposition player tapped my hand and I got two free shots,” she recalls. In this particular game that took place at Loyola High School, Margao, GBA coaches, Olencio Dias, Shawn Rodrigues as also GBA President, Fr Ralin De Souza saw her prowess as a hoopster. Based on her score-sheet, she was selected for the U-16 Girls Nationals in September 2015 at Bhavnagar, Gujarat wherein she was the vice-captain. She remembers the match against Bihar which they won by a healthy margin of 33-10.
“We played a really good game, combined well. I shot a few free throws and a few baskets,” she reminisces. The following month, she was selected for an U-18 camp held at DBO, Panjim wherein she underwent three weeks of rigorous training. “I got selected to go to Ludhiana, Punjab with Sir Olly’s training for another Nationals, this time, U-18 Girls which wherein our performance was alright,” she stated.
Upon her return from the tourney, she continued with her training, and from sometime December last year, there were trials for selection of the Women’s team for the Nationals to be held in the second week of January. After three weeks of training at DBO, she was part of the team which went to Mysore.
On being the youngest player at the Federation Cup under the aegis of the Basketball Federation of
India, the young hoopster has this to say. “It feels good. It is really exciting to be so small and play for one of India’s biggest tournaments.”
