Sania Mirza, tennis ace is super excited to compete at the upcoming Rio Olympic Games in Brazil. Sania will team up with Prarthana Thombare in the women’s doubles. In mixed doubles, Sania would team up with Rohan Bopanna and we are hoping she will give a great performance at the Olympics.
However, the rise of Sania so far has been overshadowed by the other sports legends around us. Check out some facts about Sania Mirza, the affable Hyderabadi and national tennis icon.
1. Her crush
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Sania had a huge crush on the Russian Tennis star, Marat Safin. However, she got married to Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik in 2010. Before marriage, Sania was also linked to other cricketers like Ghulam Ahmed and Asif Iqbal.
2. Most searched person on Google
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Post marriage, there was an unpredictable hike in the search related to this tennis sensation. She later became the most searched person on Google. Mirza was named as one of the ’50 heroes of Asia’ by Time on October 2005. In March 2010, The Economic Times named Mirza in the list of the “33 women who made India proud”.
3. Doctor of Letters
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Sania has obtained an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters. In 2008, Sania received the degree from MGR Educational and Research Institute in Chennai.
4. A fat pay cheque
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Well, we are not aware of her exact earnings but all we can say is that she is the first Indian tennis player to earn more than 1 million US dollars.
5. Quite a record
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Talking about her professional tennis career, Sania began to play tennis at the age of six and was later trained by her father. Mirza won 10 singles and 13 doubles titles as a junior player.
6. Her strengths
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Offensive baseline is the style of Sania Mirza while playing on the field. Her forehand is her main strength as well as her volleying skills. She is known to attack the person with sheer velocity of her own groundstrokes.
7. Her fashion statement
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The clothes that Sania wears while playing has attracted various controversies from some Muslim groups. A Muslim scholar had issued a rule, saying that her skirts and T-shirts were “un-Islamic” and “corrupting”. Later Mirza told that she would stop playing games held in India.
8. First Indian woman to win WTA
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Sania Mirza is the first Indian woman to win a WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) title. WTA also ranked her India’s number 1 player from 2003 to 2013.
9. Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award as well
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Sania Mirza became the second Indian tennis player to get honoured with the country’s highest award for achievement in sports i.e. Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award.
Author: Rima Chowdhury
