Two girls from Punjab make it to NBA's Basketball and Leadership Development Programme

By: WE Staff | Tuesday, 24 August 2021

Yashneet Kaur, 16, of Jalandhar, and Kavya Singla, 17, of Patiala, have been selected for the NBA Academy Women's Virtual Program. The NBA has selected a group of 50 players from 22 countries for an eight-week basketball and leadership development programme.

Parnika Srivastava, Sunishka Karthik, and Shomira Bidaye are the other three Indian players who have been chosen. Under the supervision of current and former WNBA players as well as NBA Academy staff, all young girls will participate in basketball and life-skills development instruction.

Participants will receive virtual lessons, instructions, and challenges as part of the on-court curriculum, and will compete against peers from across the world.

Excited to be part of the program 16-year-old Yashneet said, “The programme has helped me develop skills on and off the court. They are helping me develop strength and sharing tips on gym workout. I am spending extra time on weight training which will help us balance out our athletic training with our studies.”

Harsimran Kaur, a promising Indian basketball player, is her younger sister. In October 2019, she was selected the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the NBA Academy India Women's Camp.

Kavya says, “My experience has been brilliant. Interacting with coaches, players, and experts from the WNBA has given me a chance to learn so much, be it basic fundamentals or advanced skills in basketball.”

She is a national player who is now attending Team India's basketball training in preparation for the Asian Games in 2022. She was also a member of the NBA India camp in 2018 and 2019. Shomira of Nagpur represented Nagpur at the 2019 Junior NBA Global Championship in Florida. Suniksha Karthik of Bengaluru was a member of the Indian squad in the previous edition, and Parnika is from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.