India has always been short of sporting icons except in Cricket. And therefore, when a 18 year old Indian girl reaches the 3rd round a Grand Slam tournament, the country goes berserk. While I am full of appreciation for Sania, it leaves me disgusted at the state of sporting affairs in our country. A country of over a billion people is so desperate for a sporting icon that even a third round at a Grand Slam is considered good enough to make front page news.
The fact that Sania lost to the eventual winner of the Australian Open is, but little consolation. But since this article is about Sania Mirza, it’s best I dont digress too much into my cynical insights into the world of Indian sportstars, or the lack of, thereof.
After her heroics at the Australian earlier in Jan, Sania went on to win the Hyderabad Open to become the first Indian Woman to win a tournament on the Women’s Tour. No mean achievement this, considering she had people ranked much higher that she beat enroute to the title.
However, her most impressive result till date came in the next tournament that she took part in. I read someplace that Sunil Gavaskar used his contacts in Dubai to impress upon the organizers to offer a wildcard to Sania, who did not make the cut into the direct draw due to her ranking.
Since Dubai has a huge Indian population, it was great business for the organizers having Sania play in Dubai. And she did not disappoint her fans. Atleast not till she lost the way she did. In her second round, she upset the current US open Champ, and World No 7 Svetlana kuznetsova in straight sets using her lethal forehand to its best effect.
That one result made Sania a name to watch for, not just in the Indian media, but also in the rest of the world. Her next match was against a lesser known, albeit ranked no 28th opponent Jelena Jankovic. People who came in expecting Sania to brush aside her opponent just like she did in her previous round, were in for disappointment.
Sania, displaying the first sign of nerves, simply came unstruck. Her serves, which were never her best weapons, deserted her completely. Her forehand, which had attracted some very flattering comments from some very respected commentators, went berserk, and she just couldnt keep the ball inside the court. The scoreline, unlike in most other cases, told the entire story.
But Sania can take heart in the fact that Jelena went on to defeat Serena Williams in the semis before losing a hard fought battle to Lindsay Davenport. Sania has already shown that she has the right game to be a success at the world stage. If she works on getting a more consistent service action, and improves her backhand, she can surely go a long way.
Certainly, she will again make the front page of all newspapers very soon. But this time, I pray that she should deserve it.
My best wishes to Sania Mirza. Go India, go.