A whole lot of Hoopla

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Geetu Anna Jose

For a decade now she’s been the face of Indian basketball. Aggressive, focused, talented and endowed with an athletic physique, Geetu Anna Jose has travelled on paths never taken by Indian basketballers.

At 27, she’s achieved what most can only dream of, yet she’s grounded and knows what she wants from life.
At the peak of her career, Geetu has given herself two more years as a player, after which the Railways employee while being connected with the sport, will take a step back from it. Later this year the leggy lass, who stands tall at 6’2’’ will exchange vows with a Kerala-based MNC employee and she’s looking forward to the big day.
Speaking about her little known personal life, the Kottayam girl said, “It’s a match arranged by the parents and I’m happy. All these years, there was pressure to settle down and now that it is happening, people often tell me that having played for over a decade for the country I should retire and settle into domestic life. But my fiancée is understanding, so I may play for another two years before signing-off.”
In between juggling basketball and work, Geetu has to make time for the relationship too. Considering she’s based out of Chennai, she has to play her part in making the long distance relationship work.
“We make it work by keeping in touch over phone and mails. We meet occasionally, but given our professional commitments we can’t meet often, but we are both focused professionals and understand each other’s commitments,” said Geetu, the first Indian woman to try out for the prestigious Women’s National Basketball Association.
Moving to the court side, ask her about what people abroad think and know about the sparsely exposed Indian hoopsters, Geetu, who first captained the Indian team at the age of 24, said, “When I first went and played in a league in Australia, people wanted to know if I was really from India. In 10 years only one player has got exposure and that doesn’t speak well for the sport in our country.”
While watching Geetu play, apart from her quick reflexes and her ability to shoot from sharp angles, what catches the attention is her expressive eyes, well defined by kajal and masscara.
While many woman shy away from talking about wearing make-up while on field, Geetu is quite open and said, “It is important to be presentable even while playing. There are times when you are under tremendous pressure while playing for your country and looks are the last thing on your mind. But as woman, the next day when we look at pictures we do feel we should have paid attention to our appearance too. Although what really matters is our performance, I do highlight my eyes and apply cream and some lip gloss before playing.”
While Geetu tries to make the best of the two years she has to accomplish her unfulfilled dreams, she’s also looking forward to working with youngsters in order to ensure there are more internationally recongnised women basketballer players from Indian.