Sania Mirza is one of the most talented sports legends of the country. The diva, who has marked a golden name for herself in the field of tennis, has formerly ranked as No. 1 in the women’s doubles as well as bagged six major titles in tennis. Sania shone bright as one of the most-known, highest paid and influential athletes in India, till she announced her retirement from the sport in February 2023. On her personal front, the diva is married to Pakistani cricketer, Shoaib Malik, and the duo is blessed with a son, Izhaan.
Back in 2019, Sania Mirza appeared for a panel discussion for the World Economic Forum. Amongst other discussions that the athlete took part in, she also talked about a particular anecdote from her personal life, where she opened up about the prejudices women athletes like her go through. She recalled how at the age of 8, she was told by many that nobody would marry her when she grows up, since her love for playing tennis would make her dark skinned. Bashing the unjust pre-requisites for a woman to be pretty in order to be desirable, she said:
“When parents or the aunties and uncles and the neighbours stop telling you how dark you are going to become and nobody is going to marry you when you play a sport. I was eight. And everybody thought nobody is gonna marry me because I would become dark. It is so deeply embedded, this culture of girl needs to be pretty and she needs to be somehow be fair to be pretty. I don’t know why. And you know that if you go out and play, you will become a tomboy. You’ll know what you would become and so come inside and play with girls. I think culture needs to change.”
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Sania Mirza has been one such athlete in India who has always advocated the need for equality between men and women. Proof of the same was found back in May 2023, when she graced an event in Delhi. During a media interaction, the athlete was asked to reveal how she manages raising her son, Izhaan along with her hectic schedule of work commitments. In her response, Sania got a bit irked and gave a befitting response. Hinting at how such a question wouldn’t be asked to her husband, Shoaib Malik, she said:
“Jaise wo (Shoaib Malik) manage karte hain, waise main manage karti hu. Aap agar Shoaib Malik ko wo sawaal puchenge, to main bhi aapka jawaab de dungi.”
It was back on January 13, 2023, when Sania Mirza took to her social media handle and announced one of the biggest news of her life. The star athlete shared stepping down from professional tennis and retiring. She recalled that thirty-years back she fought with her coach to teach her tennis. Sania added that it was twenty years that she played tennis professionally and added that the reason behind her retirement was to take care of her son, Izhaan.
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For some time now, there have been a strong buzz about Sania Mirza and Shoaib Malik’s marriage having reached rock bottom. Well, it all started when the duo began to skip attending each other’s events, followed by both of them going on vacations and trips without one another. Moreover, there was another report of Shoaib Malik’s link-up with Pakistani actress, Ayesha Omar, which fuelled divorce rumours between the former and Sania. However, as of now, there hasn’t been any official confirmation on the same by the duo.
What do you think about Sania Mirza’s revelations?
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