19-year-old girl with brain tumour shows stellar display in national championship win

Poonam Chaturvedi (Image credits: Deccan Chronicle)

19-year-old Poonam Chaturvedi is a real sporting hero. After being diagnosed with a brain tumour in March 2014, Poonam was forced to undergo treatment and miss her training sessions. Despite the constant shooting pain in her head, she managed to display a stellar performance in the National Women’s Basketball Championship in Rajasthan.

Playing for the Chhattisgarh team in the final on Monday, Poonam scored 28 points against the favourites Delhi in a 84-75 win. With the win, Poonam was also awarded the player of the tournament title for scoring the highest points in the championships. The 7-feet tall player scored a staggering 178 points in the course of seven games in the tournament.

Speaking to the Deccan Chronicle, Poonam said she played on despite a constant pain in her head. “Itna sar dard ho raha tha ki main soch rahi thi mera sar phat jayegi (The pain in my head was so severe that I felt my head would break). The tumour caused me trouble in all the seven games I played in the championship,” she said.