Taher Akbarally :

Cager mania

Angu Rajendran

He is diminutive and inordinately shy but when he puts on his sneakers and picks up a basketball, he becomes a completely different person. A dynamo! His parents watch him play, with their hearts in their mouths and pacing up and down but Taher is oblivious to everything but the game that he loves above all.

At the finals of the Under 13 basketball championships at Colombo International School against Colombo International School, Taher Akbarally captaining the Asian International School team played as if on fire, to win the match and the tournament for his school. In the first ten minutes he scored fifteen points leaving the opposition totally confused, lost and helpless. Taher, though ably supported by the rest of the team was a cut above the rest. He jumped higher, he ran faster, he dribbled harder, he shot more accurately. He was the obvious choice for Most Valuable Player. 'My greatest wish is to be able to dunk. I will try so hard until I can do that,' says twelve year old Taher who has been the International Schools athletics champion for Under nine and the Under 13 age

groups. 'I like to do athletics because it improves my speed,' he says. 'It also helps me to jump higher. But my first love is basketball.' He started playing when he was five years old. 'I saw my seniors Quraish and Ahmed playing in the Inter-house matches at school and thought that one day I want to be like them. I told my dad and he fixed a ring for me. I have never let that go to waste.' From then on he practiced shooting. 'My cousins taught me how to play and I just love basketball.'

Taher is an extraordinarily talented youngster, who has the ability to do anything he wants. He is a form one student of Asian International School. He is on the school's athletics, basketball and swimming teams. Taher is very good in his academic work and loves to play outdoors.

Who are your friends? 'I have loads from different schools. I meet them during basketball matches and we become good friends. He hates to play computer games or watch TV, says Taher.

He is an outdoors man. 'If my cousins or friends are not available, I play alone.' He also loves cycling and playing cricket at home.'

What makes him better than all the other players in his team is his exposure playing with seniors as he is also a member of the under 15 team. He has been taught how to captain a team by his immediate senior Bevan Samuel. 'He explains strategies very clearly before a match. I try to do the same with my team. I feel responsible for our team.' Taher had been dreaming of this day for several years - the day that he would captain his own team to victory.