Haters Going to Hate, Players Going to Play!

Sania Mirza just cannot stop winning. The past one year has been a testament of her talent and, keeping in mind the events that have rocked the tennis fraternity, if she was a game show host then she would by now be pointing towards a fanciful door on a pretense set shouting “all Sania haters, come on down.”

 She would be laying down the red carpet on the choppy Indian roads and be personally handing out “Who’s your daughter-in-law?” pamphlets to all those who doubted her and never believed that she could be where she is today – touching the pinnacles of success and that too with unmatched charisma!

Instead, Sania has let her racquet do all the talking, has made her country touch the heights of glory and is now almost on the verge of becoming the first ever Indian woman to scale the world no. 1 rank in tennis.

All this despite being looked down upon with judgmental eyes and being let down one too many times!

Don’t get me wrong but our country is never supportive when it comes to underperforming athletes, especially women. What good is a floundering Sania Mirza when we’ve had the audacity to make a certain Sachin Tendulkar endure ignominious headlines like ‘Endulkar’? What good is her undying dedication when we’ve had people question the heart that Baichung Bhutia put into the game?

From the infamous ‘Jama Masjid’ controversy to her ‘legs pointing towards the Indian flag’ fiasco to the ridiculous ‘cannot play wearing shirts and skirts’ claptrap, Sania has been amidst the center of storm far too many times. However, what’s even more baffling is the appalling fact that she never gets the credit she deserves when she manages to weather that same storm through her wondrous achievements.

True that she’s had her share of controversies and has let her emotions get the better of her at times, but let’s be honest that the flame in her when it comes to playing the sport she loves, for the country her heart thrives for, is truly beyond doubt inextinguishable and essentially the only thing that matters

Ever since Mr. Laxman’s invigorating comments, Sania’s bandwagon has been on an impressive roll showing no signs of derailment whatsoever. For India’s good, let’s hope it stays on that path for a long time. Apart from being runners-up in 2014 at Indian Wells, Canada and China, she won the US Open, the WTA Championships and helped India bag a bronze and a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games.

On the contrary, many think that the reason for her recent success on the circuit is Mr. Laxman. Now I understand that coming from a country that is dramatically ruled by the “chutzpah” of a certain organization called “Bollywood,” majority would be inclined towards that explanation. However, if I may be allowed to shatter this whole idiotic fabrication, Sania Mirza has always been one great tennis player.

The fact that she has represented us internationally for so long consistently only speaks volumes of the talent that she possesses. This after the sore fact that our country boasts of a population of 1.2 billion. Not only has Sania Mirza been India’s face globally when it comes to women’s tennis, but she must also be given credit for putting us on the map.

So to all those haters, who have nothing better to do than just submerge her in their bucketload of nonsense, it’s time to come out and smell the sweet aroma of your own foot lying deep inside your own mouth. It’s time to show some appreciation towards a world class tennis player rather than just sit back and wait for her to mess up and then trash her. Because no matter how positive we say we are, we have to come to terms with the ugly truth that it might actually be quite some time before we could have the privilege of walking tall among the tennis powerhouses.

Hence, if you want to judge her then judge her by her immense forehand and not by the legs that she displays while sporting a skirt on the court. A forehand so strong by the way that even the great Serena Williams had trouble braving her adroitness on a sunny afternoon at the Rod Laver Arena.

If you want to judge her, then judge her by her immaculate on-court presence of mind and not by her off-court marriage to another human being. A mind so technically sound when it comes to tennis acumen that hitting a deft drop shot even made his majesty Roger Federer stand back and applaud.

If you want to judge her then judge her by her prodigious baseline angles and not by the fact that she likes to click selfies and upload them on Instagram every now and then. Some angles so acute that even the best of the best – Swiss legend Martina Hingis – could not help but appreciate the genius in her.

If you want to judge her then judge her by her phenomenal winners and not by useless nugatory comments that she made on ‘safe sex’. Winners that are so staggering in execution that Svetlana Kuznetsova was left stunned in the middle of Wimbledon’s prestigious center court.

And finally, if you want to call her names, then call her by her own one and not by farcical slangs that disrespect her. Because quite frankly the name “Sania Mirza” says it all and is just that damn good!