Prashanti Singh

Prashanti Singh (born 5 May 1984, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh) is a shooting guard for the Indian national women's basketball team. She is first basketball player in India conferred with National Civilian Award Padma Shri in 2019. She has been honoured with the Arjuna Award by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India in 2017. She has also been conferred with the prestigious Rani Laxmi Bai Bravery Award 2016–17 in the field of sports by Government of Uttar Pradesh.

Prashanti Singh
The President Ram Nath Kovind presenting the Arjuna Award to Ms. Prashanti Singh on August 29, 2017
Position	Small forward/shooting guard
Career	International: 2002–present
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight	65 Kg
Nationality	Indian
Born	(1984-05-05) 5 May 1984 (age 40)[1] Varanasi,[1] Uttar Pradesh, India

Prashanti represented the national team at 2006 Commonwealth Games, 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, China in 2010 and 17th Asian Games in Incheon 2014.^[2][3] Her sisters Divya Singh, Akanksha Singh, and Pratima Singh, have also represented the Indian national women's basketball team.^[4] Another sister, Priyanka Singh, is a National Institute of Sports basketball coach.^[5] Together they are also known as Singh Sisters.

Playing career

Receiving the Arjuna Award in 2017 from the President of India

Prashanti joined the Indian women's basketball team in 2002 and soon became its captain. She played as captain in 3rd Asian Indoor Games which were held in Vietnam on 30 October – 8 November 2009 where the team won a Silver medal. Prashanti won Gold Medal in South Asian Beach Games at Sri Lanka in 2011.^[6][7]

Prashanti Singh is most decorated woman basketball player in India. She is one of the top four A grade player of India selected and sponsored by Basketball Federation of India & IMG-Reliance.

She has won 22 medals in the National Championships, National Games and Federation Cups in India. She holds the national record of having most medals at senior level in National Championships for one state team.^[8] She is first woman Basketball player in India to represent the National team in one 2006 Commonwealth Games & two Asian Games 2010, 2014 respectively.

She is also a member of the International Women's Film Forum of Asian Academy of Film & Television.^[9] Prashanti Singh is first and only basketball player in India who has a documentary film named B Cube (Boskey Basketball Banaras)^[10] on her own life which is selected in top xix films in the prestigious Satyajit Ray Film Festival.

International sporting achievements

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Notes
Representing  India
2016	2016 South Asian Games	Guwahati		Won all Matches (Team Captain)
2014	17th Asian Games Incheon	Incheon	Top 6
2013	25 FIBA ASIA Basketball Championship for Senior Women	Bangkok, Thailand	Top 5
2013	International exposure trip at NBA Training Centre	Dongguan, China	Winner
2011	1st Asian Beach Games	Sri Lanka	Won Gold
2011	FIBA Asian Basketball Championship for Senior Women	Nagasaki, Japan
2011	33 William Jones Cup	China, Taipei
2010	16th Asian Games	Guangzhou, China		As Captain
2009	Asian Indoor Games	Vietnam	Won Silver
2009	FIBA Asian Basketball Championship for Senior Women	Chennai
2007	FIBA Asia Championship for Women	Incheon, South Korea	Winner GB
2006	2006 Commonwealth Games	Melbourne		As Point Guard
2006	Friendly Match Series	Auckland, New Zealand
2006	First Phuket International Invitational Basketball Championship	Thailand	Won Gold
2005	20th Asian Basketball Confederation Championship for Senior Women	Sendai, Japan	Silver GB
	Portdiction International Invitation Tournament		Won Bronze
2002-3	Fiba Asia Basketball Championship for Junior Women	Chinese, Taipei

National sporting achievement

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Notes
Representing  India
2016	66th Senior National Basketball Championship	Mysore	Bronze Medal
2015	65th Senior National Basketball Championship	Rajasthan	Silver Medal
2014	64th IMG Reliance National Basketball Championship	New Delhi	Bronze Medal
2013	3 × 3 National Basketball Championship	New Delhi	Silver Medal
2012	Mahindra NBA Challenge National Final	New Delhi	Gold Medal
2012	25th Federation Cup Basketball Championship	Kerala	Bronze Medal
2011	National Games	Ranchi, Jharkhand	Bronze Medal
2011	24th Federation Cup Basketball Championship	Raipur	Bronze Medal
2010-11	61st IMG Reliance National Basketball Championship	New Delhi	Silver Medal
2009-10	60th National Basketball Championship	Ludhiana, Punjab	Silver Medal
2008-09	59th National Basketball Championship	Surat, Gujarat	Silver Medal
2008	33rd National Sports Festival for Women	Jalandhar	Silver Medal
2007-08	58th National basketball championship	Pondicherry	Silver Medal
2007	23rd Federation Cup Basketball Championship	Rourkela	Bronze Medal
2006-07	57th Senior National Basketball Championship	Jaipur, Rajasthan	Silver Medal
2006	22nd Federation Cup Basketball Championship	Jamshedpur, Jharkhand	Silver Medal
2006	56th Senior National Basketball Championship	Pune, Maharashtra	Silver Medal
2005	R.Vaikuntam Cup Basketball Championship for Women	New Delhi	Silver Medal
2005	21st Karp Impex Federation Cup Basketball Championship	Bhavnagar, Gujarat	Silver Medal
2005	55th Senior National Basketball Championship	Ludhiana, Punjab	Silver Medal
2004	54th Senior National Basketball Championship	Odisha	Silver Medal
2003	20th Federation Cup Basketball Championship	Vashi, Navi Mumbai	Bronze Medal
2003	53rd Senior National Basketball Championship	Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh	Gold Medal

Awards and achievement

The President, Shri Ram Nath Kovind presenting the Padma Shri Award to Prashanti Singh, at an Investiture Ceremony, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on 16 March 2019

• March 2019 : Padma Shri by Government of India
• August 2017 : Arjuna Award by Government of India^[11]
• December 2016-17 : Rani Laxmi Bai Award (Outstanding Sports Person) by Uttar Pradesh Government
• December 2015-16 : Poorvanchal Ratna (Top Sports Person)
• October 2015 : Shakti Samman by APN News
• March 2015 : UP ke Sartaj titled by Radio Mirchi 98.3 FM.
• January 2015 : National record with 23 medals for one team in senior level.
• June 2013: Lokmat Samman (sportsperson of the year 2013) in Lucknow.
• October 2012: MVP (most valuable player) of Mahindra NBA challenge National Final in New Delhi.
• April 2011: Captained team West & won Best Player award in All Star Game in Mumbai.
• February 2011: Top scorer award with 129 points (25.8-point/game) in prestigious 25th IMG-Reliance Federation Cup, Raipur
• 2011: She is one of the first ever ranked Top Four A Grade elite Basketball player of India.
• 2010: Elle Magazine - first Indian basketball player featured in the May 2010 edition
• October 2006: Century Sports Award by Century Sports Club, Varanasi
• August 2006: Outstanding Player Honour by UP College Old Students' Association
• December 2002: Best Player Award in UP State School Championship, held at Ghaziabad

Early life and academics

Prashanti is originally from Varanasi and moved to Delhi for her career. In Delhi, she trained and joined MTNL team.^[12] She is a graduate in Arts from University of Delhi, India.

Family

Prashanti singh belongs to a famous basketball family of India. They are known as the “Singh Sisters”. She belongs to Solanki Rajput family of Varanasi. Three of her sisters currently are a member of the Indian women's national basketball team.

• Sister Divya Singh (Currently Student and working with University of Delaware women's basketball team)
• Sister Akanksha Singh (former member of India women's national basketball team)
• Sister Pratima Singh (India women's national basketball team player), wife of Ishant Sharma

References

1. Dubey, Rachana (8 March 2010). "I don't think there should be comparisons: Jhulan Goswami". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 20 August 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
2. "Asian Games 2014: Indian women basketball team to fight for fifth position". sportskeeda. 29 September 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
3. Chakraborty, Amlan. "Singh sisters defy gender bias to excel in basketball". IN. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
4. "We'd love to do modelling: Basketball player - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
5. "Prashanti Singh on Basketball". 4 August 2011. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
6. "List of athletes recommended for Arjuna Awards". The Indian Express. 3 August 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
7. "Indian women basketball team secure Silver at the Asian Indoor games". 9 November 2009. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
8. "Delhi post third win on the trot. - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
9. "Marwah Studios - A Creative Enterprise, Film City". marwahstudios.com. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
10. prashanti singh (27 March 2017), B Cube Boskey Basketball Banaras, archived from the original on 20 December 2021, retrieved 22 April 2018
11. "National Sports Awards: Centre unveils list, cricket sensation Harmanpreet Kaur to receive Arjuna Award". Financial Express. 22 August 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
12. Jha, Rakesh. "I was inspired by my sisters: Prashanti Singh". www.indiansportsnews.com. Retrieved 28 April 2018.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/meet-prashanti-singh-the-only-basketball-player-to-be-awarded-the-padma-shri/article28630157.ece

External links

• Profile at EuroBasket
• Official Website