With a couple of firsts to her name, erstwhile basketball player Pavithra Chandra has certainly carved a niche for herself. Despite not being active on the court any more, the enterprising Bengalurean is making news – after being invited by the US Department of State & ESPNW as an Exemplar alum of GSMP 2016. She will be passing on the symbolic torch to this year’s program in Washington, DC.
As one of the attendees at the ESPNW Summit in Los Angles, Pavithra will be featured along with her mentor Julie Eddleman, as a panelist to share her views on women in sports, mentoring and her journey. In a candid chat, she tells us more...
“Basketball is not yet a professional game in India, even to this day. I was exposed to this game while I was in high school (9th grade). But took it up seriously after my PUC wherein I was selected to be trained at the Sports hostel run by the Department of Youth Services and Sports, in Mysuru,” enthuses Pavithra, about how she got her start. While she harboured ambitions to make it big as a cardiac surgeon, it was her innate passion for the sport, which ultimately took over “While I was inclined towards being a heart surgeon, the power of the sport consumed me — enough to make a firm decision that this is what I wanted to do — both on the Basketball court and long after I stepped out of it too. This was also because I hoped to create better opportunities in the game for our next generation and combat a few concerning social challenges (gender inequality, suicide rates in India, etc), using sports as a tool,” reveals Pavithra, the first International Women’s Basketball Player from Karnataka to be a FIBA (Federation of International Basketball Associations) Level 2 Certified Basketball coach.
She was also the first Bengalurean basket ball player to be selected, in September 2015, as one among the 16 Emerging Women Leaders in Sports from around the World by US Embassy in India to mentor aspiring sportswomen.
Speaking about her expectations from the summit, she adds, “This is my second time at the summit. To me, it's more like a privilege to symbolically pass on the torch to GSMP 2016 Emerging Women Leaders from around the world. I will also be helping them prepare towards building a vision to work effectively back in their home countries.”
Giving us a peek into her future plans, she signs off by stating. “Through my start up, we wish to host championships for children, youth and women soon. I've also launched a special Basketball programme for moms under 30.”
