: Chennai lass Jeevika Kumar dreams to be part of the Women's NBA league and hopes to keep improving her game to achieve the goal.
The city-based basketball player is part of the 20 players from India selected to compete in the second Junior NBA Global Championship (for 13 and 14 year olds) in the US from August 6-11 at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World in Florida.
"My dream is to be part of the WNBA and for that I need to keep improving my game. The standard of basketball in India is getting better and soon we will have players in the competitive WNBA," she said.
The selected players underwent training at the NBA Academy in Noida before leaving for the US.
The Chennai schoolgirl said she took a liking to basketball at a young age and had been playing since she was in her fourth grade.
Jeevika Kumar further said the standard of the sport in Tamil Nadu had been improving over the years and said the state had a good team now.
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She felt a league for basketball on the lines of the hugely popular IPL would help improve the standard of the game in the country.
"I wish there is a league for basketball like, say the IPL, as it will help improve the standard. Indian basketball is improving and the performances have been getting over the years," Jeevika added.
The Junior NBA Global Championship will feature boys and girls divisions, separated into US and international brackets, beginning with round-robin play and continue with single-elimination competition.
The winners of the US and international brackets will play in the global championship games on August 11.