THE TUMULTUOUS brouhaha of Indian Premier League took its toll on one individual’s great success story. In the commercially triggered cosmetic euphoria media criminally ignored and reduced the greatest achievement of the finest Indian woman badminton player Saina Nehwal into a damp squib. The reticent, sober and wonderful player was content with the rationed laurels and the left-handed compliments she got. She didn’t complain. The country failed to exult the way it should. Silently but gracefully Saina climbed to the top fifth position in the world badminton ranking. The new feather in her cap is followed by her spectacular stellar performance at the All England Championship where she reached the semifinal.
Perhaps ,she was short of the glamour quotient!
Once upon a time there was a name with several nicknames to her credit - the ace Indian tennis player, tennis sensation of India, the tennis star of India, youth icon of India or the lone Indian flag bearer at world tennis circuit - Sania Mirza. She was a rage in India when she reached the forth round of US Open in 2005. She is the only Indian woman to reach the forth round of any Grand Slam event. She is also the first Indian to get into the top 50 WTA (Women's Tennis Association) rankings. High rankings of her career till date are like 27 in singles and 18 in doubles.
In those memorable days each tournament was a new stepping stone towards the new triumphs. She remained unfazed when most of the Mullahs, with the exception of Mirza Mohammed Athar of Lucknow, hounded her for her dress or even for her act of playing tennis. But in due course of time, her lack of experience or guidance exposed her feet of clay. She allowed the brand Sania to take over the tennis player Sania. Ultimately she broke down.
Then came another mile stone of her life. Sania's father announced that Sania Mirza engaged to her childhood companion and business scholar from their hometown Hyderabad. Even before the two got engaged, questions were asked whether Sohrab Mirza could cope with the demands of being life-partner to a widely-travelled, hugely-popular athlete. Unfortunately, the worst fears of the cynics proved true and premonitions persisted and won. Her father Imran, who coaches Sania and manages her career, called off his daughter's engagement to Mohammed Sohrab Mirza. Sania did put up a bold face in the adversity and categorically refused to get into the why and what of the matter. She confirmed her engagement was off. "We were friends for half a decade, but found ourselves incompatible during our engagement period. I wish Sohrab the best in life." Since then she hasn't taken the break-up well as her results on court show. But with hard work and luck we hope and pray that Sania will definitely be the top tennis player in world one day.
Someone has commented - Sania Mirza hasn't had the best of starts to the 2010 season - on and off court. A broken service game is one thing, but a broken engagement or a broken heart, is quite another.
I believe that like the several snide criticism of mullahs and other persistent controversies haunting Sania, she would have been able to surmount the challenges. It were not the natural calamities or a bad engagement that pushed down Sania; it were the pressures of brand SANIA that proved he Waterloo; it was super stardom which consumed Sania.
Here is something that own new deity Saina Nehwal has to learn from the odyssey of poor Saniya. The new glittering star of badminton much know that the sumptuous blend of celebrity endorsements, featured appearances, adoring fans, fame and money are a cocktail too heady for tender young minds to bear.
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