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Indian tennis player cuts stereotypes
(AP)
Updated: 2005-11-03 10:37
As the Indian economy has opened, satellite television channels, Western
films and glitzy malls bursting with clothes from Europe and the United States
have succeeded in prying open the more hidebound sections of Indian society,
exposing a world where girls can compete in every sphere, including sports.
"Sania symbolizes the new India, which is more aggressive, more assertive,
ready to take on competition as it comes," said M. N. Panini, sociology
professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University. She "represents India's rising middle
class — their hopes, their dreams, their aspirations."
Mirza's gung-ho attitude is clear. After one recent match, she said: "I enjoy
hitting the ball as hard as I can. I enjoy taking risks. And I believe you
always have to take risks."
While such bravado clearly plays well with fans, it has gotten her only so
far on the court.
In August, she became the first Indian woman to reach the fourth round of any
Grand Slam, but made it no further in the U.S. Open, losing to Maria Sharapova,
then ranked No. 1.
She is now ranked No. 34 on the WTA Tour, up from No. 326 a little more than
a year ago.
Mirza's progress has been dogged every step of the way by the Indian media.
Her glittering nose ring and short skirts and T-shirts on the court have all
served as fodder for gossip columns and TV talks shows. Fan mail, blogs and Web
sites have proliferated.
Mirza's security has tightened in recent months — armed police now trail her
whenever she leaves her home in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad
"She may not win the trophy every time, but because of her attitude she's won
peoples' hearts," said Abhilasha Kumari, a communications professor at the
Indian Institute of Mass Communication in New Delhi.
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