Nerve Endings Firing Away

It is almost predictable — a sportsperson come close to winning or even wins a minor game in an international tournament, the international press hardly notices, the Times of India carries a front-page story on the sportsperson as if he/she won it all, corporates flood the sportsperson with goodies and endorsements, the “new born star” appears on all talk shows and primetime news channel, the sportsperson get injured and withdraws from the next tournament, the hype starts to fade as the sportsperson simply cannot rise up to the standard of the game that made them famous, the media forgets them and soon, so do we.

Sania Mirza followed the same pattern until she did something different. After winning the first ever Women’s ATP title in Hyderabad, she convincingly beat  number seven Kuznetsova in the Dubai Open, while battling injury. As Amit points out, aggression makes all the difference. The Indian sportpersons are great chokers, individuals with promising potential and nothing more. The reason often cited — killer instinct. Pakistanis, especially the cricket team is known to play with fire in its belly. Defying all odds, the person that triumphs over all odds even if it is a niggling “ankle injury that makes you cry in pain” is a true comeback kid.

Congrats to Sania for not being the “typical Indian sportsperson”. I admit, I didn’t pay much attention to the kid after her Australian Open exploits (fluke), or the Hyderabad ATP title (home court advantage) but the recent Dubai Open win (hmmmm; lemme think) against a formidable opponent, I honestly don’t have a reason to offer. This girl is certainly made of sterner stuff. Watch out Williams sister and the Russian brigade, the Indian girl is coming into her own.

PS. Her interview shows that she has a responsible head on those little shoulders. [via India Uncut]