Geethu Anna Jose


Geethu Anna Jose is an Indian basketball player who has been the captain of the Indian women's national basketball team.

Personal life

Jose was born in a Syro-Malabar Catholic Nasrani family that had little history of basketball playing. She was educated at Kottayam's Mount Carmel English Medium School, and at Assumption College, Changanacherry. Her brother Tom Jose is also a basketball player who represented the State of Kerala and her paternal cousin Tibin Anthony is also a basketball player who represented Kerala in the years 2009-2010. Jose married Rahul Koshy on 8 January 2014. They have a son and a daughter.

Career

As a child, Jose played volleyball, first playing basketball with the Kerala Junior Basketball Association. While playing in a championship match for Kerala, she was spotted by the Southern Railway basketball team; she joined Southern Railway in 2003. She was part of a team that beat Delhi in a 2005 tournament final, where she scored 34 points in a 95–50 point victory.
Jose played in the 2006 to 2008 Australian Big V seasons for the Ringwood Hawks, being the first Indian woman basketball player to play for an Australia club as a professional. In the 2008/9 season she was invited to play for Dandenong in the Australian Women's National Basketball League, but didn't take up the offer. In April 2011 WNBA teams, Chicago Sky, Los Angeles Sparks, and San Antonio Silver Stars invited her for tryouts.
In June 2012, Jose scored 11 points in the finals of the third Asian Beach Games at Haiyang, helping India to achieve a 17–14 victory over China.

Sporting credits

International

Geethu received Arjuna Award the year 2014-15 for her outstanding contributions towards sport in India and International arena