Growing up in Bangladesh, Ashreen Mridha was introduced to basketball through her father, who organized sports events at her elementary school. As soon as she was old enough, she joined the Basketball Federation Training School. However, due to societal norms, there was not a proper set-up for competitive women’s basketball in the country, so Ashreen took the situation into her own hands. While attending North South University, she and another student recruited girls for the school’s first women’s team, and by 2012 hosted Bangladesh’s first ever inter-university women’s basketball tournament. Two years later, Ashreen was given the university’s Best Female Athlete award and earned the starting shooting guard position on the national team.

Currently the brand manager of marketing for Unilever Bangladesh, Ashreen is also the founder and director of Deshi Ballers, a leadership and basketball training program for Bangladeshi girls and women. She seeks to empower and enable women to play basketball regardless of age, ethnicity or socioeconomic status. Ashreen is creating a platform for women of all ages and backgrounds to play basketball by spreading the sport to rural parts of the country, where she holds camps and clinics for girls. Because of her efforts, Ashreen was awarded the Heroes with Impact Award by Unilever in 2019.