Ann Mary looking to take Indian basketball forward

Guwahati : Kerala's Ann Mary Zachariah is emerging as one of the top basketball players here at the third edition of the Khelo India Youth Games. Playing her first match of the competition against Karnataka on Thursday, the 16-year-old was in prime form, scoring a total of 24 points, the most by a player in her category on the day.

Daughter of India's former international basketball players Zachariah Thomas and Jeena Zachariah, Ann Mary is a product of the Mount Carmel School in Kottayam, Kerala, where she had started playing the sport.

"I think what really excited me was the fact that both my parents were former players, and I had seen them play as well. Therefore, I started developing an interest in the sport, and eventually both of them motivated me to take it up at a very young age," said Ann Mary.

The centre player took part in the Khelo India Youth Games in the inaugural edition where her team picked up the gold medal, and was also present in Pune when they had to settle for the bronze medal. However, the youngster, who has represented the Indian U-16 and U-18 teams, is targeting the gold medal again with her state team.

Out to fulfill her parents' dream of taking Indian basketball to a higher level, Ann Mary said she is only focused on one goal. "It was always my parents' dream to help India compete against the best teams in Asia, and then the world.

I am happy that now we have a great pool of players at the Junior level who have the ability to produce good basketball, and compete against the best players in the world," said the youngster who is a huge fan of NBA great Michael Jordan, and the Golden State Warriors.