Suman Sharma: Hoopistani Indian Basketball Hall of Fame

There were 22 years of Arjuna Awards given to 12 Indian basketball players, from the early 60s to the early 90s, before the very first woman shattered the glass ceiling (or the fibre-glass backboard) to be named in this exclusive list. That woman was Punjab's Suman Sharma, a star for India in the late 70s and 80s, and today's entrant into the Hoopistani Indian Basketball Hall of Fame.

Born in Amritsar, Sharma's international and domestic highlights included six national championship golds and a silver medal, appearances in three FIBA Asia Championships in Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Shanghai, captaining the team for the 1982 Tokyo FIBA ABC, and playing a major role for the team the same year at the Asian Games back home in Delhi.

Sharma won the Arjuna Award in 1983. In 2015, he joined the Indian Basketball Players Association (IBPA) as a vice-chairperson.

Click here for more of the Indian Basketball Hall of Fame.