Zahira’s Zakwan; a star in the making

by Rex Clementine

Football maybe the sport that’s close to the hearts of most students and old boys of Zahira College, Colombo but the Maradana school has made rapid progress in rugby and basketball in recent years. There’s something classy about Zahira’s basketball players. Not because they talk in English but the grace and discipline with which they play the game. They have many stars in the making but this 13-year-old

Zakwan Nasik is a special talent indeed about whom we will hear a lot more in coming years. Like most kids at Zahira, the sport that was dear to Zakwan was football. But he shifted to basketball because some of his friends had embraced the fastest game in the world. Learning the fundamentals of the game from Asanga Perera, the former Air Force and Sri Lanka player, Zakwan soon was taking huge strides in the sport.

Zakwan was born with an abnormal hip. A deformity that restricts his movement. He hardly can stand or walk straight but you’ve got to see him on the basketball court, he runs as fast as any other kid. What’s more interesting is the passion with which he plays the game. Defence is the most unglamorous part in basketball. Panduka Ranasinghe, one time coach of the national team once said, ‘offence wins you girls, defence wins you matches,’ and it’s Zakwan’d defence that makes you take note of him. He takes charges, dives for the loose balls, rebounds like Dennis Rodman and his help and recovery would certainly make Bobby Knight proud. Zakwan’s father is a mechanic working in Saudi. His parents are the biggest strength to his basketball.

Last week marked Zakwan’s first basketball tournament. He gets severe pain in the hip area after the game but that’s not stopping him from giving his best on the court. Zakwan’s parents have had many dialogues with surgeons in rectifying his deformity but they have been warned that corrective surgeries may lead into other complications. Let’s hope that with medicine advancing by the day, we find a solution to help Zakwan walk like a normal kid. Whether his deformity is corrected or not, there’s one thing for certain, the national selectors will be keeping a close eye on this remarkable kid who plays the game with much passion. Zakwan Nasik could be the first player from Zahira to go onto represent Sri Lanka in basketball.