JEDDAH, 11 April 2007 — Braving the blazing sun and the midday heat, hundreds of girls shared a moment of joy with a cool Indian icon at the International Indian School, Jeddah, (girls section), here yesterday.
They endured the heat and the crush at the school’s assembly area just to get a glimpse of the Indian tennis sensation Sania Mirza, who was here with her family to perform Umrah. Sania came, she saw and she conquered the hearts of a legion of fans.
Sania is well known the world over. She revolutionized Indian tennis, giving it a new direction. But here, the girl was looking relaxed. Far from the glare of publicity and media attention, Sania was relaxed and very comfortable. The tennis prodigy, who took India by storm with a string of successes while giving women’s tennis in the nation a new fillip and direction, took centerstage, or the stage, in an “abaya.”
But it was the few words of camaraderie and encouragement, once she was allowed to speak between the waves of cheers that rolled out of the sea of fans, that caught at the hearts of the young girls. Every sentence was greeted with a roar of cheers and Sania, gamely, got her message across — albeit piecemeal.
“I’m no older than you all, but ambition, perseverance and hard work will help you achieve your goals,” she said in one of the few sentences she could get across in the brief visit.
Sania was accorded a warm reception by the school authorities. She was given a guard of honor by the girls and escorted to the stage with fanfare. Earlier, she was received at the school by chairman of the school managing committee Suhaib Kazi, Principal M.S. Rehman and managing committee members Syed Sharique Ali, Sultan Mazharuddin and Abdul Wasey.
Sania was accompanied by her parents, Imran Mirza, Naseema Mirza and little sister Anam and her uncle Ashfaque Mirza and his wife, who live in Jeddah.
Despite the breezy visit, the atmosphere was electric as the students robustly awaited her arrival. Her presence only strengthened the cheering girls vocal chords as she was veritably cheered onto the stage every step of the way. The students were very excited to see their idol up so close, and were cheering and shouting “Sania, Sania” right through the welcome, where she was presented a bouquet, till her climb to the stage.
An overwhelmed Sania took the microphone, and that sent the crowd wild — triggering a push and shove contest. She immediately appealed for calm, and this only sparked another roar. She said that “I am what I’m today and it is all due to hard work, confidence and an ambition that I had set for myself. And this has helped me to achieve whatever I have wanted to do. Hard work and confidence is the key to my success.”
Born in Mumbai on Nov. 15, 1986, and a resident of Hyderabad, Sania, has created history in tennis worldwide. She is the first Indian to get into Top 50 WTA Rankings, the highest ranking achieved by her being No. 31. Sania is also the first Indian woman to win a WTA (Hyderabad Open) event in February 2005.
In 2004, the government of India honored her with the Arjuna Award — the highest national award in the field of sports. She was named the WTA’s Most Impressive Newcomer for the year 2005.
In a cricket-obsessed country like India, tennis player Sania’s fan following, a glimpse of which was seen at the IISJ yesterday, speaks volumes about her achievements. Sania’s glamorous looks and meteoric rise to stardom has only added to her aura.
