BENGALURU (India) – Pushpa Senthil Kumar did not know what basketball was until Class 10.
Today, she is an established India international preparing to take Indian Railways onto the Asian club stage.
The journey began in an unlikely way. Growing up in Mudikandanallur in Tamil Nadu's Nagapattinam district, Pushpa and her elder sister Sathiya were netball players at a Sports Authority of India hostel in Mayiladuthurai. When netball was discontinued there, the sisters switched to basketball.
Pushpa quickly found her sport.
In 2017, she earned her first senior opportunity with Tamil Nadu at the Senior Nationals. Tamil Nadu finished fifth that year before improving to runners-up in 2018. In 2019, Railways came calling.
That move would prove significant both on and off the court.
Pushpa's father had passed away in 2012, leaving her mother Manjula to support the family by working in a garment factory. Pushpa has spoken about how securing a Railways job gave her mother the chance to finally rest after years of financial struggle.
On the court, meanwhile, Pushpa continued to rise.
She progressed through India's youth teams, averaging 13.2 points and 13.2 rebounds at the FIBA U16 Women's Asia Championship Division B in 2017 at the Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium - the very venue where the FIBA Women's Basketball League Asia 2026 will take place.
A year later, she moved up to the U18 level.
By 2021, Pushpa had reached the senior India team and played at the FIBA Women's Asia Cup Division A, averaging 10.5 points and 7.5 rebounds across four games.
Her most productive senior international tournament came at the FIBA Women's Asia Cup 2025-Division B.
Pushpa averaged 14.2 points and 6.6 rebounds, leading India in efficiency and rebounding while finishing second in scoring. She produced two 23-point performances during the tournament, against Kazakhstan and Thailand.
That international experience now comes into play as Railways step onto a new stage.
The domestic champions enter WBL Asia 2026 after defeating Kerala, 75-66, in the Senior Nationals Final. Pushpa contributed 22 points in the title game.
She continued to make an impact domestically in April, scoring 22 in the Feasto Golden Jubilee Basketball Tournament Final as South Central Railways defeated KSEB, 66-55. She was subsequently named women's MVP.
Now comes another challenge.
For all her experiences with India, this will be Pushpa's opportunity to bring that international know-how into club competition against some of Asia's best.
It is a remarkable progression for a player who only discovered basketball after another sport disappeared from her life.
The teenager who switched from netball to basketball could hardly have known where the change would lead.
Almost a decade later, Pushpa is an India international, a Railways champion and one of the country's established players.
Now, back at the venue where her international journey began, she gets to take the next step.
This time, she does it with Railways - on Asia's biggest club stage.
FIBA