Cupid struck Ishant Sharma on the basketball court, a cute love story unfolds

Mumbai: Love can brew anywhere. While there have been countless of romantic stories in the hills or the deep blue sea, this one is a court apart for Team India’s speedster Ishant Sharma.

Ishant, 27, who got engaged to basketball player Pratima Singh in June, has a cute little love story of his own and it all began on the basketball court.

As for Pratima, who spent most of her time on the court, meeting the lanky cricketer for the first time and subsequently falling for him, might have been the best thing that could happen to her.

Pratima hails from a family of athletes and is the youngest of the five sisters. The family is widely reckoned as the ‘Basketball family of India.”

A recent report in ‘The Indian Express’ shed light on the sporting couple’s first meeting.

While cupid struck on the basketball court, in 2011, it was Pratima’s elder sister Divya, who requested Ishant to attend a basketball match organised by her and be the chief guest.

During the event, Ishant spent a lot of time with Pratima and her sisters. He was hardly seen seated on the dais. Love took over and the rest is history as this December Ishant and Pratima will tie the knot after a courtship of three years.

Divya was elated by the subsequent turn of events. “It’s a perfect match”. Ishant’s a great guy; down to earth, easy going and respectful. Fame’s not gone to his head. It helps that they play sport,” she was quoted as saying.

Pratima too on her part has had her fair bit of success. She emerged a star at the 2008 Senior Nationals in Delhi and also represented India at the 2010 Asian Games. As fate had it, Pratima faced a career-threatening knee injury a year later and successfully recovered.

The best part of this union is both these sports personnel are committed to their sport and have also dedicated time for the relationship.

“Not much will change regarding my commitment to sports even after marriage. We both know and understand how to maintain a balance between career and relationship. I have always been great in time management, the reason I could play for so many years for the nation. This will not change even after marriage. My duty towards the nation will not be kept aside by Ishant, no matter what”, Pratima had said recently.