DHAKA: Bangladesh women’s national basketball team shooting guard Ashreen Mridha becomes the first Bangladeshi basketball player to join the Global Sports Mentoring Program (GSMP) funded by ESPN and the United States.
She is all set to leave Dhaka Saturday (Sept 22) evening, for United States. She confirmed the news to Banglanews, in the morning.
Ashreen Mridha, former captain of Bangladesh women’s national basketball team, placed herself among some 16 international athelets who will be matched with leading female executives from America’s top sports organizations for the five-week mentorship (September 23 to October 31).
“They have selected 16 women from 140 countries in the world to be part of this prestigious program. And luckily, I am the first Bangladesh basketball player to be selected for this program for this year,” she said.
“It would inspire many more girls to come and play,” she said upon being selected.
“These are all small victories. I am engaged with Bangladesh’s basketball since formation of the national team in 2009. I think women’s involvement in basketball should get some focus here, to lift it to the mainstream sports scene. Besides, the way our female teams in cricket and football are proving their success, is praiseworthy,” added Ashreen.
As a member of the national team, Ashreen participated in 6 international events since 2009, including the first South Asian Women’s Basketball (SABA) Championship in 2016. She captained the Kolkata-Bangladesh friendly series in India the same year.
In Bangladesh, Ashreen hopes to create a platform for women of all ages and backgrounds to play basketball by spreading the sport from the more progressive capital throughout other parts of the country,
“I am hopeful that the mentoring experience will give me better precision on the action plan for promoting women’s basketball in Bangladesh. For as long as I can play, I want to steer the women on my team to works towards promoting, encouraging and developing basketball for a better future for others in the country,” she said.
However, the Global Sports Mentoring Program is an initiative created by the US Department of State in collaboration with espnW and the University of Tennessee’s Center for Sport, Peace, and Society.
In its seventh year, the GSMP is the flagship professional development exchange supporting the State Department’s ongoing efforts to advance the rights and status of women and girls around the world through sports.
Tapping into the power of public-private partnerships, the GSMP positively impacts communities at home and abroad to create a more secure global playing field for all. Each year, 16 to 17 women demonstrating leadership skills and experience in the sports sector are chosen from a list of nominees selected by US Embassies throughout the world. The program was recognized as the recipient of the Stuart Scott ENSPIRE Award at the annual Sports Humanitarian Awards in Los Angeles this year.
Each emerging leader identifies a key need or challenge facing girls and women in their home country. During their mentorship in the US, they will develop a detailed action plan to address this challenge through sports. All action plans are designed to be implemented upon the emerging leaders’ return home and have the common goal of creating sports opportunities for underserved and disadvantaged populations. Development of the action plan serves as the culmination of the mentorship experience.
BDST: 1414 HRS, SEPT 22, 2018
SI/SMS
