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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]
by Patrix | on Wednesday, March 2nd, 2005 at 7:31 pm | 
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March 2nd, 2005 at 10:22 pm reply
Unbelievale girl and such maturity. May all the Luck be with her. She makes us proud. Go Sania!
March 3rd, 2005 at 6:54 am reply
There is nothing more annoying than these cloying tributes about Sania. She is not doing it for India, she is doing it for herself and the amount of money that she can make. There is nothing wrong with that and is in fact good. But please lets stop this making the country proud nonsense. Lets celeberate Sania for who she is and not her nationality. A greater culture of individuality will allow us to make better sportsmen/women
March 3rd, 2005 at 9:27 am reply
Alpha - I hope she has a different career path than most..she certainly is headed in the right direction.
Ram - Abandoning your nationality won’t make you a better sportsperson. I never mentioned that she is doing it for India but that doesn’t take away from the fact that she is an Indian and her abilities are influenced by growing up in India.
March 3rd, 2005 at 11:02 am reply
exactly right dude .. the hype was over the top with the times featuring her EVERY DARN day .. plus everyone on TV talking about her .. but this feat is somethign remarkable … the girl has spunk …
keep writing .. u’ve made me a regular reader (additional thanks to RSS) ..
March 6th, 2005 at 7:02 pm reply
Elaichi Chai - I haven’t got the RSS bug yet but good to know you can read my blog more often.