Parineeti Chopra launches Sania Mirza’s book over a Q&A and some bonhomie
Why would anybody want to pen an autobiography at 29, somebody asked tennis ace Sania Mirza, who launched her story her way over the weekend. “As a tennis player, I am not so young, quite a veteran now,” she retorted. And lest you thought that this meant that a book was turning over a new chapter of her life, she clarified, “I have had a long career to write about. And I wanted to say it in my words. That doesn’t mean I am retiring anytime sooner.”
Introduced by her friend and actor Parineeti Chopra, the two ladies had an impromptu question and answer session on stage. Parineeti drew Sania out on her love life. “It was totally like Veer Zara. The last thing that crossed our minds was which countries we are from. Unfortunately, there is no logic when you fall in love,” Sania told us.
Chopra also shared the lessons she had gathered from Sania. “One important thing she taught me is retaining a positive attitude at all times and having the sportsman’s spirit. She said we are tigers, we go out there to win but we don’t win all the time. We lose too but we must have the spirit of fighting when we are down. There never can be another gritty one like her,” said the proud BFF.
Asked whether she would play Sania in her biopic, Chopra said, “I will be the happiest to do it. Nobody else can play her better.”
Sania spoke about her struggles and achievements that she has also cited in the book. One of them concerned her love-hate relationship with the media. “I can’t live without them and they can’t live without me,” she admitted.
Sania also thanked her family and friends for being there with her throughout and her fans for their unconditional love and support.
Co-written by Sania’s father Imran Mirza and sports journalist Shivani Gupta, Ace against Odds has also been launched in Hyderabad by Shahrukh Khan and is out on stands now.
The 29-year-old’s battle on court — and with fringe elements off it — is the stuff legends are made of. Whether an innocuous picture of Sania putting her leg up after a match, a comment about pre-marital sex, the length of her skirt or even her marrying a Pakistani cricketer, she has been at the receiving end. Taking on allegations over her irreverent behavior with the same strength of her killer forehand, Sania is an example of how an icon is trivialised into an object of public scrutiny.
Propelled into the big league at a very young age, Sania was aware about what she lacked and quickly learnt what she needed for sustaining herself on the tour. From becoming India’s No.1 woman tennis player to being the World No.1 in the women’s doubles with Swiss legend Martina Hingis, controversy has dogged her career.
Sania is candid in her admissions and open to speak her mind, a virtue that still makes her a youth icon in a cricket-crazy country. Ushering in a renewed interest in tennis among aficionados and fans, Sania has been instrumental is bringing in the crowds to tennis matches.
learning early in life that grit, determination and hard work bring laurels, she quickly understood that people were uncompromising when it came to criticising icons — may be a trait typical to a society short on tolerance and high on moralistic turpitude.Her journey from a junior player to a Grand Slam winner is one strewn with pain and glory. Nagging injuries and the toll that the circuit took on her body forced her to quit the singles format in 2012. Her bitter-sweet relationship with media and the constant tours left her with just a handful of friends, a group that backed her through thick and thin. But what gave her emotional strength was the rock solid backing from her father Imran Mirza and the innumerable sacrifices by her mother Nasim. (with IANS)