Khan Shabnoor Mohd Rafique never wanted the length of her shorts to come in the way of her dreams. But for her parents, who live in a chawl in Dr Zakir Hussain Nagar, Govandi East, this was always a spot of bother. It took them time and some convincing from her coach Zoheb Khan, but all of 16 now, Shabnoor has surmounted this problem to become a basketball celebrity of sorts in her locality. She and 12 other girls from the neighbouring slum pockets in Govandi and Mankhurd are winning one basketball tournament after another, making their families proud.

Back in 2016, coach Khan, who lives in Mira road, was on the lookout for talent to form basketball teams for both boys and girls from underprivileged backgrounds. His search took him to a BMC school, Awami Girls High School, in Govandi. Students there didn’t have the slightest idea of what an orange ball with black stripes meant, let alone the rules of dribbling and shooting a basket. But his selection process was simple and one that had nothing to do with the game directly. The students were tested for their racing and athletic skills. From here, 13 girls formed a team that is now minting gold.