Sania: The controversial star!

For tennis lovers and Indians around the globe, she represents a new dynamic face of young India. She’s the first woman to make her mark in the third round of a Grand Slam. This young lass is India’s most searched for tennis star on a popular search engine Google. No prizes for guessing, of course it’s none other than – Sania Mirza. But that’s not just about it. A vivacious lady with guts to prove her talent, never knowing there was much more than tennis that would come her way.

She’s an Indian ‘Muslim’ woman and for people who claim to be intellectually aware and sincerely dedicated to their religion, her sport star status does not budge them from raising fingers on her. Or should we say that’s the primary reason why she’s always surrounded by critical eyes.

ACHEIVEMENTS, SO EXTRAORDINAIRE!

This 21-year-old Hyderabadi girl came into notice with her outstanding achievement in the year 2003. Sania Mirza and her partner Alisa Kleybanova of Russia won the girls doubles final and registered their triumph at the mother of all Grand Slams – Wimbledon. This marked the journey of an ordinary girl with not so ordinary ambitions in her life. She knew what she wanted in life and it reflected in her on-court aggression. Her attitude and determination is compared with legendary German tennis ace Steffi Graff, but for Indians she’s simply Sania – incomparable.

National awards brought laurels to Sania and her family. She was named out to be the ‘Best young female achiever’ and received the award for the ‘Most outstanding performance in tennis’ in year 2004.

And then there was no looking back for this gutsy Muslim girl. Sania was the first Indian sportswoman to make it to the Time magazine Asia edition cover page which described her as a role model for Indian women and fastest rising star in the year 2005. In the same year, Indian hopes were raised by Sania Mirza as she set the ultimate clash with muscular Serena Williams. Sania was beaten, but not lost. The world saw this young Indian’s phenomenal journey from 400s to No. 131 in rankings. Later in 2005, she was presented with Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award.

This Indian teenager’s dedication and performance weren’t the only much talked about areas. Her gracious presence on the circuit was also being noticed. Year 2006 added another jewel to her crown as she ranked amongst the top 10 most beautiful tennis players of all time by Chinese news agency, Xinhua which starred her next to Russians Anna Kournikova and Maria Sharapova.

Sania’s efforts have never been given due regards. She is highly acclaimed internationally than in her own country where people live, eat, drink cricket! Sadly, that’s one word definition to sports in India. Her contribution to Indian tennis has bestowed the nation with pride and honour which is no ordinary. Yet, she has always been dragged into unnecessary trivial issues.

THE CONTROVERSIES’ ‘FAVOURITE’ CHILD

Fame gives birth to foes and for Sania, it came quite early. In July 2003, there was a major goof-up with Sania’s rankings. International Tennis Federation deprived her with bonus points and thereby not ranking her number one after winning the Junior Wimbledon title.

Her attractive on-court appeal,

short skirts and fondness of piercing

was always under the kind of scrutiny she might not even be aware of. 2005 was full of ups and downs for Sania, as she strongly felt her freedom was being snatched away. And that too on the basis of religion she sincerely abides by. Keeping a critical eye on her were the individuals and Islamic groups who believe to follow their ideologies without a fail.

A fatwa was issued against Sania which highlighted her indecency in dressing up for job she’s best at. Hasheeb-ul-Hasan Siddiqui of the Sunni Ulema Board discarded her loud style of clothing and feared other young Muslim girls would follow this flamboyant sportswoman. But it looks people tend to ignore the fact that she plays lawn tennis and Burqa might just affect her game, isn’t it?

There was a threat to Sania’s play until she changed her

on-court dressing

. She was given special protection at Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Sunfeast tournament in 2005. Later, she flaunted a cheeky slogan on her t-shirt, ‘Well-behaved women rarely make history.’ It seemed to be an indirect reply to all those nasty comments flowing out of nowhere. Now that’s the Indian tennis sensation, feminine yet bold.

Her self-belief didn’t only reflect in her dressing or game but also in her thoughts. Predictably, people had problems with this as well. She was quoted as saying that whether before or after marriage, the most important matter was that sex was safe. There were protests against her in Andhra Pradesh and people burnt her effigy. There you go, sheer hypocrisy. On one side, people talk about introducing adult topics in early schooling but if someone talks about it openly, there’s havoc around. Yet again, Sania cleared the air saying her words were misquoted and she never meant to hurt anyone’s sentiments.

Controversies and Sania had a long way to go. This time her

family doctor was threatened

through emails and letters that if he treated her, he would have to face heavy consequences. In December 2007, Mecca Masjid ad-shoot landed her in a soup, where she and the camera team were accused of entering the premises without permission. Sania apologized for the same and that put a halt to the much-hyped issue.

National flag row isn’t alien to anyone who loves tennis and Mirza’s play. But what does national flag has to do with powerful backhands and aces? Confused? Don’t be. Our very own controversy child, Sania had put her feet in front of the Indian flag and this was targeted by a Hyderabad lawyer. He filed a complaint demanding action to be taken against her under the country’s stern Prevention of Insult to the National Honour Act. She could possibly face a penalty of three years in jail and a fine, if found guilty. Sania is not a superhuman, we all know, that’s exactly what she replied to her critics, keeping her focus intact on the Australian Open in Melbourne.

What a plight it would be to compete in the toughest Grand Slam under pressure to survive not only in the game but against the serious charges back home. But hats off to Sania Mirza for proving her caliber against Venus Williams in the third round at Melbourne Park. Full marks to her on giving a tough fight to Venus, bowing out 7-6, 6-4, from the singles event of the first Grand Slam of the year.

Sania has made India proud at various occasions with her playing prowess. Throughout her tennis life, the Indian ace has lived every single day of her life thinking to be out there and get noticed for her efforts. The recent allegations, of putting up her feet in front of the national flag, made Sania rethink on her career so much so that she thought of quitting.

Does that give a scary feeling? Although there are quite a few ‘Sanias’ in the making, the present scenario is that India can depend primarily on Sania Mirza when it comes to playing on international circuit. Having said that, a very serious question arises, ‘What if Sania Mirza had quit?’

source: indiatimes.com