The first cager to represent the city and Maharashtra in the 3X3 Indian basketball team participating in the Asian Games being held in China, Siya Deodhar isn't easily intimidated. The happy-go-lucky hoopster takes life in her stride and has a string of laurels to her credit. The Indian contingent reached the quarterfinals but had to bow out to the home team, China Taipei.
Returning home, Siya, a member of the Shivaji Nagar Gymkhana team here, said she was happy to represent the nation in the event but not satisfied with the result. “I am happy with the performance of Indian team in its debut but not satisfied," said the youngster her pride obviously hurt at the outcome of the quarterfinals. "We were capable of doing better," she told Lokmat Times.
Siya said the international exposure as a member of the Indian squad, had taught her a lot. "It was an inspiring experience, a cherishing experience," she said adding that rubbing shoulders with other Indian athletes who are on a gold winning streak was also "thrilling".
The participation also showed flashes of India's brilliance in the competition as in the pre-quarters the Indian team thrashed Malaysia 16-6. The team finished second in their group after defeating Uzbekistan but faced defeat against last edition's gold medalist China. The Indian contingent participated in this event for the first time and Siya, who has been on the court ever since she was six-years-old and trained under Shiv Chhatrapati Awardee Shatrughna Gokhale and Vinay Chikate, got an opportunity to represent the country.
Siya said "The level of competition in international events is very high. We did not have many expectations as it was our debut but the outcome was still a bit of a disappointment. The team gave a "good tough fight" in all games and "finished among the top eight".
Siya was happy at the opportunity to interact with start Indian athletes like javelin thrower and gold winner, Niraj Chopra and others during the games. “It was a really nice experience. The Indian contingent was staying at the same place and I clicked photos with them all," she said.
A resident of Dharampeth, Siya is the daughter of proud parents, Shreesh and Swati Deodhar. She longs to see the Indian team in world championships. At present she is studying at Jain University on a sports scholarship. Siya has played as a Mahrashtra team member in many national championships. At sixteen, she was also part of the Senior Women Indian camp a few years back. Since 2019, she is the fourth Indian-born athlete to play high-school basketball in the United States after Asmat Kaur Taunque, Harsimran Kaur, and Ann Mary Zachariah.