Akanksha Singh (born 7 September 1989 in Varanasi Uttar Pradesh) is an Indian basketball player and former captain of the

India Women's National Basketball Team India women's national basketball team is a national women's national basketball team representing India at the international level. At the 2017 FIBA Women's Asia Cup, India was promoted to Division A after beating Kazakhstan 75-73 in the Fina ...

. She has played for the national team since 2004. She and her sisters, Divya, Prashanti, and Pratima are known as the "fantastic four" of the Indian women's basketballers, and are also known as the "''Singh Sisters"''.

Playing career

In 2003, Akanksha Singh made her debut in the Senior Nationals and played for the

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

team when she was just an 11th grader. In 2004, she followed her sisters' footsteps on the Delhi team. In 2010, Akanksha was awarded the Most Valuable Player in India's first professional basketball league, the MPBL. Her name was forever cemented in the Indian basketball history books as one of the first-ever top four players to achieve the "A Grade" from the

Basketball Federation of India The Basketball Federation of India (BFI) is the governing and controlling body of basketball in India. It is responsible for the development and promotion of the sports authority of India at all levels. BFI manages all the national-level basketba ...

sponsored by IMG Reliance. She is often called the "small wonder" in basketball. She has been awarded Best Player in many national and state championships. In her captaincy at the

University of Delhi Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and is recognized as an Institute of Eminence (IoE) ...

, she won a gold medal in the All India University basketball championship at

Nellore Nellore is a city located on the banks of Penna River, in Nellore district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of the district, as well as Nellore mandal and Nellore revenue division. It is the List of cities in ...

, where she was given joint best player award along with her sister Pratima Singh.

Personal life

Singh comes from a family of basketball players. She completed her undergraduate studies at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi. Her sisters Divya, Prashanti, and Pratima have represented the Indian National Women's Basketball Team. Oldest among the sisters is Priyanka, who is a

National Institute of Sports Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports, commonly known as National Institute of Sports (NIS), is the Academic Wing of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and Asia's largest Sports Institute located in city of Patiala. History Founded on 7 ...

basketball coach. Sister Divya worked with the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 mas ...

basketball team. Her brother Vikrant Solanki is a football player In the I-league and Santosh Trophy competitions.

Awards and achievements

* Awarded as one of the best four ‘A grade players’ across the country in women's basketball in India * May 2010 - Most Valuable Player in first All India Mastan Basketball Professional League held at Mumbai, Maharashtra * May 2010 - Best Player Award in the league match in MBPL, Mumbai, Maharashtra * 2008 - Most Valuable Player in All India Inter University Basketball Tournament held at Nellore, Andhra Pradesh * 2008 - Best Player Award in

Lady Shri Ram College Lady Shri Ram College for Women (LSR) is a constituent women's college, affiliated with the University of Delhi, and has a legacy in women's education. History Established in 1956 in New Delhi by the late Lala Shri Ram in memory of his wife ...

for Women, New Delhi * September 2006 - Best Player Award in XXXII St. Stephens College invitational basketball tournament held at

St. Stephen's College, Delhi St. Stephen's College is a constituent college of the University of Delhi, widely regarded as one of the oldest and most prestigious colleges for arts and sciences in India. It was established in 1881 by the Cambridge Mission to Delhi. The college ...

* September 2005 - Best Player Award in XXXI St. Stephens College invitational basketball tournament held at St. Stephens College, Delhi

International sporting achievements

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Incheon, KOREA, 19 September to 4 October 2014 * 34th Williams Jones Cup invitational tournament 2012,

Miaoli county Miaoli County (Mandarin Pinyin: ''miáo lì xiàn''; Hakka PFS: ''Mèu-li̍t-yen''; Hokkien POJ: ''Biâu-le̍k-koān'' or ''Miâu-le̍k-koān'') is a county in western Taiwan. Miaoli is adjacent with Hsinchu County and Hsinchu City to the nort ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

* 25th FIBA

Asian Basketball Championship The FIBA Asia Cup (formerly the FIBA Asia Championship and ABC Championship) is an international basketball tournament which takes place every four years between the men's national teams of Asia and Oceania. Through the 2015 edition, the tourna ...

for senior women, 2011,

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

* 33rd William Jones Cup 2011,

Hsinchuang Gymnasium Xinzhuang can refer to the following locations: Mainland China * Xinzhuang Station (Shanghai Metro) ;Towns *Xinzhuang, Shanghai (莘庄镇), town in Minhang District * Xinzhuang Subdistrict (新庄街道), Yixing, Jiangsu Written as "辛庄镇" ...

Chinese Taipei "Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan. Due to the One-China principle stipulated by th ...

Asian Games 2010 The 2010 Asian Games (), officially known as the XVI Asian Games () and also known as Guangzhou 2010 (), was a regional multi-sport event celebrated from November 12 to November 27, 2010 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, although several events ...

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, 12 November to 27 November 2010 * 24th FIBA

for Senior Women, 2009,

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, India * 23rd

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its na ...

Asian Basketball Championship for Senior Women, 2007,

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* 18th FIBA Asian Basketball Championship for Junior Women 2007,

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

* 2nd FIBA Asian Basketball Championship for Young Women, 2006,

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

* 17th FIBA Asian Basketball Championship for Junior Women, 2004,

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...

* Indian Camp for 21st

Asian Basketball Championship for Senior Women, 2005, Qinhuangdao City,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Akanksha 1989 births Living people Sportswomen from Uttar Pradesh Indian women's basketball players Basketball players from Varanasi Basketball players at the 2010 Asian Games Basketball players at the 2014 Asian Games 21st-century Indian women 21st-century Indian people Asian Games competitors for India Guards (basketball) Singh sisters