Sania Mirza

Why one billion people can't be wrong about Mirza

2006-06-25T00:14:00.000-07:00

YOU don't want to mess with Sania Mirza. 'You can either agree with me or be wrong' read the slogan on one of her figure-hugging tee-shirts. 'Well-behaved women rarely make history' read another, worn at Wimbledon last year, while 'I'm cute? No shit' was emblazoned across her frontage at the US Open in September. Ms Mirza has attitude, in case you had not guessed.
When players talk about pressure, they sigh and try to explain what it is like to have a crowd of tennis fans taking an unnatural interest in their every move. Mirza, though, comes from India and not only faces the regular trials and tribulations of a professional athlete and celebrity, she also has one billion people at home following, and discussing, her progress. She admires the likes of Tim Henman and Andy Murray for the way they cope with the media circus that follows them at Wimbledon, but she knows that the pressure she faces is on another level again. "The only difference is that I have a billion people following them and they don't!" she laughed. "I am from India and I have to face it. These are the pressures I'm going to have for the rest of my life and there's nothing I can do about it.
"This is what my country is like and people in India get very emotional about their heroes."
Coming from a nation, and, indeed, a family, of cricket lovers, Mirza broke the mould from the moment she picked up a tennis racket at the age of six. Her talent was obvious from the start but with little by way of training facilities in her home town of Hyderabad, and with only her father to teach her, she constructed a style for herself that is based more on determination than traditional technique. As in everything else in her young life - she is just 19 - she has taken on tennis and done it her way. Her competitive fire has already brought her one tournament title - her home town event last year - and a current ranking of 38 in the world. Like most teenagers, she is not yet ready to become a leader for her generation but, still, she is regarded as either an icon or "a corrupting influence" in her home country. She is a practising Muslim but some more right-wing clerics in India have already attacked her for appearing in public in her tennis kit, clothing they deem to be highly unsuitable for a young woman. One group of fundamentalists even went as far as to issue a fatwa against her, threatening to stop her from playing unless she followed the Islamic dress code.
Fortunately for Mirza, India is a very large country and a large proportion of the 100 million Muslims living there are just pleased to see her succeed. Admittedly, these days she has bodyguards to protect her when she goes home, but they are there to fend off as many autograph hunters and journalists as religious zealots.
It is a lot for anyone to take on board, much less a teenager, but Mirza is a tough cookie. Sharp as a tack, willing and able to defend herself but also ready to laugh at the absurdities of her life, she does her best to put everything into perspective.
When her doubles partner, Liezel Huber, complained that the Bangalore crowd was too noisy as the duo were on the way to claiming the title this year, Mirza reminded her "you know what, you'd rather have them with you than against you".
"So you just have to take everything optimistically," Mirza said. She takes the same attitude to her career. She announced herself as a contender last year by winning in Hyderabad but this year the opposition has sized her up, worked out her weaknesses - her serve - and kept her quiet. Her best result came in Birmingham last week where she reached the third round. Enlisting the help of Tony Roche, Roger Federer's mentor, to sort out that serve, she is keeping her expectations to a minimum while she reconstructs her game and plans her move towards the elite level.
"There are so many people in India who believe I can be No.1 in the world by the end of the year," she said, "and if I start saying that I am going to top ten, then that will just put extra pressure on me. That's why I want to set myself realistic goals. If I stay in the top 50 this year, then that will be achieving my goal, but if stay in the top 25 then that will also be achieving my goal. But I think my main goal is never to be satisfied."
In theory, her plans for Wimbledon this year should also be low-key. But Mirza is both a fighter and a realist and at 19, she has plenty of time to develop her career. And with so many people following her, she will never be short on support. "Wherever I'm playing, whether it's at home or at Wimbledon, the amount of Indians that live in Wimbledon, it almost feels like home," she said. One billion people can't be wrong.

ALIX RAMSAY

I dream that Sania has married Pathan

2005-12-06T03:42:00.000-08:00

In Andhra Herald i read an interesting Dream description titled
" I dream that Sania has married Pathan"

Dream goes like this ......

" I dream that Sania has married Pathan "

For the last two months, I have been regularly dreaming that cricketer Irfan Pathan has married Sania Mirza at Lal Bahadur Stadium. The barat came from Baroda along with Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and other VIPÂs, like Sonia Gandhi, Jaipal reddy, P.C. Chidambaram and other dignitaries, who were received in Hyderabad by Ms. Jayalalithaa, G.V.K Reddy, chief minister Rajasekhar Reddy and Speaker Suresh Reddy.

All the leading Indian cricketers attended the wedding and were dancing to the tune of Kajra Re, Sachin, along with Renuka Chowdary, was vigorously dancing bhangra.

All the members of Secunderabad Club and Nizam Club were invited to this wedding and Nawab shah Alam KhamÂs family handled the catering.

Foreign dignitaries like George W. Bush and Prince Charles enjoyed the haleem and chicken birayani and the entire wedding was covered by the world media.

Please interpret my dream as its recurs again and again - Ashok Chand; Hyderabad

This dream was interpreted by professionals( Indira Bhangar ) as .......

Dream Analysis: The repetitive nature of this dream indicates anxiety as there may be a deep hidden desire and need to enjoy recognition, fame, power and a significant position in life. It points towards bringing together and balancing the creative and practical, and that it is the right time for self-exploration and realizing you own potential. It also reflects wishful thinking, of being associated with resourceful people and feeling motivated and inspired to develop their inherent qualities.

How true this dream shall be ??? Only time will tell !! ............for now it has injured Rajesh Jayaprakash a blogger whose comments on this dream are

.. that I wake up late on a Sunday morning, finish reading The Hindu, turn my attention to Deccan Chronicle for some comic relief, and in the course of flipping through its pages, land up at Indira Bhangar's column, where somebody writes in that they had a dream that Sania Mirza had married Irfan Pathan and would Ms Bhangar please interpret this dream for them, and I fall off the bed, rolling with laughter, and injure myself.

Oh wait, that wasn't a dream.

Of Sania and flaring tempers

2005-11-29T20:38:00.000-08:00

The following write up was orignated at Musings of a meandering mind

There is a fine line between being aggressive and being arrogant.I am aggressive and not arrogant".This in response to a question on her attitude in an interview recently.Frankly speaking she had crossed that line soon after her match against Serena Williams last year.Why do people find it so hard to keep their feet on their ground after meeting with a little success is beyond me.She is great for the game in the country no doubt but with success comes responsibility and thats something Madam Mirza has still to learn. I dont have a problem with her T shirts or the fact that she cant serve but walking out of press-conferences mid way is just not acceptable.Last week s incident was not only an insult to the firm for which she is doing an ad-campaign but also to a certain Mohanlal who was also present there.Either keep your mouth shut when asked for an opinion on controversial topics like pre-marital sex or be prepared to peppered further even if your addressing the media on other matters. BTW,can non-muslim, non-clerics issue a fatwa?

Anonymous said...

2005-11-29T05:57:00.000-08:00

Sania cannot be compared to Sachin (yet).She has been over-hyped by the media.She should be left in peace,to play her game.She is exceptionally talented,but she needs time for her game to mature.Sania sells,because sex sells,unlike Rathore,and Malleshwari.Same reason Sharapova has been hyped to be the next monica seles,which she is not.

sania does not need to lose weight.The Hantuchova's and Sharapova's are not perfect athletic specimens,but are in fact under-built for power tennis.

You are completely clueless about tennis,if you think that Sania's backhand is weak.It is technically even more solid than the forehand,powerful,and she can create the kind of angles that you see more often in mens tennis.Her backhand down the line is excellent too.It is developing into a lethal weapon,to complement the forehand,which is the most dangerous weapon in womens tennis today.Technically, it is second only to the Graf forehand.Get out there and watch more tennis,because you obviously don't have a clue.If you understand anything about technique,and control of the racquet-face,you'd realise that she is a special talent,who could prove a worthy successor to sachin's iconic status.But not yet.
2:01 AM

A true attempt to enhance GK among children !!

2005-11-18T20:34:00.000-08:00

What could be more pleasing than to be asked formaly to learn about some one you charm most ?
Something like this shall happen next year when NCERT will become live books.

Ncert is preparing to become a livimg book by introducing living icons in its text .The big entries that have been zeroed in are Sachin Tendulkar, Sania Mirza and Narain Karthikeyan

A true attempt to enhance GK among children and build our education more dynamic !!

The photo above has been reproduced from my June archive
School Going Kids Take Lessons from her............

Sania's Skirt : Six inches long or 6 feet long

2005-11-17T20:24:00.000-08:00

Recently sania break her silence on fatwa and said "As long as I am winning, people shouldn't care whether my skirt is six inches long or 6 feet long,""....................

Sania Mirza ji understand as long as u r winning : people should care about the size of ur skirt .Who cares what a failing Indian girl wears ??

As far as the length of the skirt is concerned , whether it should be " six inches long or 6 feet long" that's a billion watcher's querstion ???

Well , i would say the answer best lies in the " GENDER " of the crowd that rushes to the stadium .

If the gender polarises towrds the higher feminine i would say she can well afford to obey the Ulema .

If it goes towards masculine gender, six inches is cool . .A'nt that Mr Sponsor??

Happy birthday Sania

2005-11-14T19:53:00.000-08:00

Today is Sania's birthday ....so rush up and clog the networks ....Yes take time to

SMS your birthday wishes to Sania -- just type SANIA, followed by your message, and send it to 7333.

I don't know what your wish means to her but go ahead and sms "Happy birthday Sania "

Sania :Strong head strong shoulder brought to u by head & shoulder .

2005-11-14T18:59:00.000-08:00

Please excuse me guys for the uncivilised act of not taking bath for consecutively three days ......r u having ur nose with a stinking smell ....

hey cool i had the AXE , not to let guys arround me know of my true aroma ....and when my Pepe and Provogue outfits were the proof of my being a part of india's rising organised retail sector : who can dare to call me uncivilised .

but why do i am telling u all these and that too in a blog meant for sania mirza ....that's because my hairs were not co-operating with me and were constantly reminding me of my uncivilised act .......and here i had something called "head & shoulders".......Oh! wow there is a brand for every problem

but in the very next moment , i had to crap what this "shoulders" is doing in something meant for hairs on head ..

whatever , this brand had all the reasons to cast Sania as her brand ambasader with a punchline ......

Sania :Strong head strong shoulder brought to u by head & shoulder .

Sania not Dancing in the Rain !

2005-11-14T09:29:00.000-08:00

Recently Ajim Premji wrote a stuff that had the title "Dancing in the rain " ....This article speaks of the "Freedom of the childhood"

Now when every one ask sania about the tennis pressure on her head since her child hood .It reminds me of the article and i simply whipsper to my own ears.....
"Oh! poor Sania , not Dancing in the Rain"

Well guys Ajim premji had some good food 4r ur thoughts

Our mordern schools are nothing more than prisions of textbook .....

Our learning institutes must be the laboratories of Exploration ...

Let's give our children freedom of childhood .....

Applying Peter drucker to Sania Mirza

2005-11-14T09:02:00.000-08:00

In a tribute to peter drucker, father of mordern managment,who died last week : i use his name as synonymous to Managment .....

Applying Peter drucker to Sania Mirza .....is a request that expects the fundamental mistakes undergoing in the managment of her public Image (PR) would be rectifyed :bringing the idea of ..........
simple living high thinking yet persuing a vibrant fashion and style in this youth icon a reality .

Sania - Lara combo offer in KBC

2005-11-13T21:50:00.000-08:00

mind u guys this was my first watching of KBC-2 ......and found something replaced as compared to KBC-1 ... No more Compaq .....it's Lenovo now that flashes KBC question ......a company that was as unknown a few years back as Sania itself ..Don't you think earth is moving faster now than it was earlier ! .....i guess v have a fourth Kepler's Law yet to be discovered

Oh! poor sania u play fast , hit hard but what in front of Amitabh Bacchan ji .....with a freezed mind u always had Lara rescuing u ....Alas ! u had stopped studying maths after 9th std ...perhaps now i have the reasons for so many unforced errors in your tennis game .....

Lara u were really impressing ....mind with beauty ....but don't u think it's the right time to go to a barber ...your hairs were coming upto your eye lids ....my mother used to take me to a barber whenever this happened with me in my chilhood ....so is the time 4r u now ......hey! the lesson here is participate in Fashion but only that suits your face .

now view KBC in reverse cronology ....

What do u guess sania is going to opt for her career??

2005-11-13T04:38:00.000-08:00

What do u guess sania thinks to opt for her career??

Making debuts in TV
A docter .
An Interrior designer
A Tennis Coach

The question won't be hard to answer though not easy too
....An Interrior designer ...yes that's she thinks for now ......i think she shows some business sense here .

Sania can u define tennis in one line ??

2005-11-13T04:21:00.000-08:00

In an open chat at ndtv with Dr Prannoy Roy and her fans

Sania can u define tennis in one line ??
"Oh! that's the toughest question i think" ..........
But in the very next moment she found her answer and replied i can define tennis in one word ........
Tennis is Fun

TIME Magazine has goofed up again -

2005-10-12T04:06:00.000-07:00

A discussion at http://o3.indiatimes.com/amjadkmaruf/archive/2005/10/05/279291.aspx on indiatimes blog ...................

I refer to Sania Mirza's selection as Time's Cover girl. Couple of years ago the Time Magazine goofed up by selecting Aishwarya Rai - a flop actress, as their cover girl and now they have done the same thing by selecting a very inconsistent tennis player with no grand slam to her credit as the cover girl. I wonder what criteria the TIME magazine adopts for selecting such non-performing Indian achievers like Aishwarya and Sania. I wonder what are the achievements of Sania Mirza. Yes, her climb from World Number 800 to World number 37 is a giant achievement but is not enough to warrant a place on the TIME's cover. She neither has any grandslam title to her credit nor has she beaten any top seeds in her entire career. She has not even reached the quarter finals of any grand slam event. Therefore like Aishwarya Rai, Sania Mirza has also been selected for her glamorous image. That they are actresses/tennis player is only incidental and an excuse. My request to the TIME magazine is not to lower their standard by selecting non-performers as cover girls and should instead consider some real Indian achievers who are far more eligible for the honour of having their face on the covers than the Aishwaryas and Sanias of India.
AMJAD K. MARUF
posted on Wednesday, October 05, 2005 5:02 PM

Moving from 800 to 37 is giant achivement but not good enough. Humm... Boss I think who warrants a place on the TIME's cover is best left to Time 's editorial staff.
10/5/2005 5:42 PM ideasgalore

If a leap from 800 to 37 does not warrant a place on Time mags cover, what does ? & with looks like the one she has got, one cant blame Time's judgement for putting her on the cover.
10/5/2005 5:59 PM Busybee

i don't gve a damn to be honest, she cud be on Times cover or Playboy, who gve a f cuk
10/5/2005 6:41 PM xxx

I think the media is going crazy about Sania Mirza and just like the author i agree, she does not deserve the attention at all. We need to be more circumspect in such a respect. Let her win a major/wta tournament and its worth it then. People like becker, sharapova, aggassi were in their prime at 17 and she has a long way to go. However, if TIME puts her on the cover i would just skip picking that issue and reading it.
10/5/2005 7:42 PM me

Well nothing new...Time mag. has done it again & again...earlier 2 it selected ..GAUTAM GOSWAMI..now wanted in FLOOD RELIEF SCAM....among most powerful asians...just b'coz he once stopped LK ADVANI(then HM & DyPM) 2 deliver his speech.
10/5/2005 7:59 PM Terrific

i fully agree dat media has hyped d whole issue bt media is not wrong in doing so as dey hv dey need scoops to remain in business. in cut throat competition better d face value = better d sale. advertisement guarrentes revenue bt dis also based on circulation figures & trp rates. wot say???? shell nothing lasts forever.....
10/5/2005 8:23 PM shell

Come on buddy...it is a marketing gimmick by Time magazine....their sale may be down so they targetted the great Indian gullible middle class market...so Sania is on the cover..
10/5/2005 8:50 PM blade

Her achivement cant be ignored for sure, considering the fact that she is the only Indian woman player who has got something to show to whole word. And her looks and attitude make her the media's darling as well as peoples! But why are you complanining man, whts ur problem. Any Indian putting the india on world map is most welcomed!!
10/5/2005 9:15 PM dee

Thay want Indian content, indians are mad for ash and now for sania its just marketing gimmick
10/5/2005 11:30 PM Rahul

But she is the first Indian to even advance beyond the first round of a Grand Slam. She is breaking ground that no Indian woman has before. And Ash wasn't on the cover because she is supposedly the greatest Indian Actres, she was on the cover because she is a world-wide phenomenon and a major figure of the TIME. Get it?
10/6/2005 12:28 AM Vinny

My friend Amjad , u obviously have a lot of frustrations in life , i guess one of them is the fact that you arent part of the time magazine team . What have you achieved in life Amjad ? i guess nothing will be an understatement .
10/6/2005 4:22 AM afrodelhite

dude.. let us first se your ass on the time magazine cover and then we all shall listen to your rantings.... i am not a fan of sania but i do believe that one should give credit where it is due
10/6/2005 9:38 AM insipid

she is appearing on the times cover page not just on the basis of tennis talent but some other factors also.
1. she has totally transformed tennis in india. Something which even paes and bhupati could also not do. Kids are now taking tennis much more seriously. This is a great achievement.
2. No women tennis player from indian sub continent has achieved scuh heights.
3. She is a muslim who are considered conservative as far as gender equality is concerned. Its an extraordinary achievement considering this factor.
4. Last but not the least she has a high glamour value even in US and UK.

So i think time magzine has done nothing wrong by putting her on the first page. She deserves a place there. However i aslo feel that if she had been from US, UK or any other western country, her picture would have never appeared on times magzine.
10/6/2005 10:29 AM ashish shekhar

Hey Ashish and all others who have commented Leander and Mahesh Bhupathi have won us several Grand slam titles but they are not worthy of the honour and here Sania gets the honour for not even entering quarter finals of any grandslam event. NOw now....THose who are spewing venom here please read this. As for Ash, well if giving just 2 hits (khan starrers) and 24 flops is enough for her face to adorn TIMEs cover then lets change the meaning of "achievement". And all you folks, have you ever heard things called "Good PR skills" "Media savvy", etc
. And those think that I am a kind of jealous person then let me tell you that if some real Indian achiever was chosen I would have felt proud. I will like if someone deserving gets the honour not some glamour girls who don't have anything worthwhile to show except for their assets and faces.

Amjad Maruf
10/6/2005 1:12 PM Amjad

Comparing Sania and Sachin invites criticism

2005-10-12T03:52:00.000-07:00

Cynism Galore

"I'll have a Sania Mirza with extra hype and diet coke to go please....".............irritated blogger "Nunc Aut Numquam "at http://akshayraut.blogspot.com/2005/10/cynism-galore.html

"Nunc Aut Numquam " writes:

Now let me see. What's up? Sania Mirza. I mean come on. I might not have any moral right to say this but the dudette needs to loose some weight. And her backhand undoes everything her forehand tries to do. All that she has won is a junior wimbeldon event. I mean Sharapova is so much better. Well Sania IS the best we've ever got, but she certainly cannot be compared to Sachin. Its like comparing Ashton Kutcher to Al Pacino. And she talks like she's won the Noble Prize or something. And what's with that accent? Did she work in a Hyderabadi call centre? Why the phoney PR act? And those loud Tees. She's immature people. Not that I expect her to be mature. But we so need to stop iconising bimbettes like her. She's a pioneer alright. but look at the likes of Anjali Bhagwat, Malleshwari, Rajywardhan Rathore and many many more. I think Rathore's feat warrants more media attention than our Miss Biryani here. Why doesn't Rathore have a PR manager? Why dont Chinese ahtletes ever make it to the cover of Time? Simple. That's because Miss Hype is in it not just for the game. Allied interests. Media packaged patriotism. PR managed nationality. Deep fried interviews. Sania Mirza...with extra hype.

What Sachin took a decade to do......OOPS !

2005-10-12T03:08:00.000-07:00

My name is L. Subramani, I was born in Salem ...............

2005-10-12T02:42:00.000-07:00

The article below is an intresting story i found at http://mafiaofblore.blogspot.com/2005/10/it-doesnt-matter-who-we-are-what.html

Blogger (MoB - Mafia of Bangalore) writes :-
Below is the story of a friend of mine, Subramani. He has surmountedall odds to work with Deccan Herald as a journo. He is very comfy withPC's and Tech stuff . He is as normal as we are except that he isblind. An avid tennis fan, here is how he recognised various shotsbeing played on the court ..

"Reporting on sports, particularly on tennis is quite easy, because, youcan hear the ball bouncing on both sides of the court and the chairumpire would tell the score. With the help of my fellow journalists likeK. Srinivasa Raghavan, tennis correspondent, The New Indian Express, Iwould decipher the shot that was played and record it in the palm-sizetape recorder. I would later listen to it and type my reports. If I cansay so, I was the first visually challenged sports journalist at that time."

Hold your breadth, he learnt to speak Japanese while working inChennai. Well, read on .....!!!
My name is L. Subramani, I was born in Salem (Tamil Nadu) and livedthe best part of my 32 years (dob: 06-07-1973) in Chennai. I belong tothe Brahmin community.
I had myopia from the age of five and was testing to change thespectacles in 1988, when my ophthalmologist told my parents I have RP,an eye condition that would lead to blindness. Though the doctorbelieved blindness may occur later in my life, it happenedsurprisingly early: two years after diagnosis.

I was doing higher secondary schooling and as my sight deteriorated, Iwondered how possibly I can complete the schooling. As it was toolate, government education department rejected my plea to have ascribe and so, I had to write the final school exams on my own. To mydisbelief, I secured 64 percent, for exams I wrote as half-blind.

My parents were devastated and thought life was over for me, evenbefore it started. Some relatives suggested I must stay at home andpursue my degree through distance education, which I rejected.

My mother N. Vijayalakshmi supported my idea of going to college andexplained about my problem to various college principals and requestedthem to admit me in the college. Her efforts paid off, as LoyolaCollege was ready to admit me in 1991. The college was where Icompleted my BA and MA. During my stay in the college, I met wonderfulfriends; some of them continue to be very close pals even today. Myfriends, Ashwin Chand, K C Vijayakumar and a few others, use to cycledown to my house and record all the study materials for me. ReadersAssociation for the Blind, an informal NGO comprising of educatedhouse wives in Chennai, lead by Mrs. Neela Ananthachary, also chippedin with reading assistance and acting as scribes for me and 30 othervisually challenged students of my college.

It was during the college days, I took interest in journalism, as Ienjoyed interacting with people and found knowing about theminteresting. I should mention thanks to my personal interactions withseveral people early on in my life as a visually challenged person, Icould learn ways of tackling my problems

Even before I lost my sight, sports events used to interest me a lot.I particularly loved watching tennis and as I was losing my sight, Isaw the Wimbledon finals between Edberg and Becker and struggledsubsequently with enormous pain in my eyes. And, at the end of thematch, I used to write down my observations, with inadequatevocabulary and flawed grammar. Little did I realise that was what Iwould end up doing (I think with much improved grammar and vocabulary).

After college, I tried hard to pursue higher studies abroad. But moneyand inadequate academic records (thanks to my blindness) were hugestumbling blocks. That was when my friends suggested to apply for a PGDiploma course in Journalism and I promptly did.The course led me to The New Indian Express, where I joined as atrainee for three months. I wrote my first article in 1998 and feltthrilled, when well wishers told me I have a promising career ahead.It also answered my critics at home, who didn't believe I can ever doanything close to that.

Journalism was quite challenging, as I felt it hard to use computers,despite knowing the keyboard operations, thanks to my brother L.Prakash. JAWS (a software fir the blind to use computers) wasexpensive and I had no choice but to learn to work on the PC withoutit. Surprisingly, apart from things like spell checking, I managedeverything without the speech software.

But, employing me full time was a decision the newspaper managementwas finding it hard to take, as they weren't fully convinced.Understandably, some higher-level managers raised questions about howindependently I could work. So, I had to continue my career onfreelance basis. I found newspapers encouraging and had mentors likeK. S. Latha, former Economic Times editor, who helped me hone myskills as a writer.

This was when an offer to join Chennai Online came, which I grabbedwith both hands. It was quite interesting, as I started writing onsports. I covered several matches for them, including twointernational tennis events (the Gold Flake Open, which subsequentlybecame Tata Open). I had more exposure and quite liked what I did.

Reporting on sports, particularly on tennis is quite easy, because,you can hear the ball bouncing on both sides of the court and thechair umpire would tell the score. With the help of my fellowjournalists like K. Srinivasa Raghavan, tennis correspondent, The NewIndian Express, I would decipher the shot that was played and recordit in the palm-size tape recorder. I would later listen to it and typemy reports. If I can say so, I was the first visually challengedsports journalist at that time.

I left Chennai online, after the dotcom burst and worked as a languageconsultant (effectively a technical writer) with a company calledSofil Information Systems, where I reviewed technical documentstranslated from Japanese.

The director of the company once called me and told me to teachEnglish for seven of our Japanese staff. I found it exciting, as, withno common medium of instruction, I had to explain most of the thingsto them by gestures. But, I couldn't believe myself, as in threemonths time, I learnt to speak Japanese. Today, my spoken Japaneselanguage level is quite comparable with anyone who can handle thelanguage, though I am yet to master the script.

During my stint with the software company, I continued to report ontennis tournaments for Chennai online on freelance basis andcontributed to famous dailies like The Hindu (metro plus supplement).When I decided to get back to mainstream journalism in 2003, Iresigned from Sofil and kept myself busy contributing for newspapersin Bangalore as well. This was the time, when I also did research workfor the memoirs of film actress Padmini.

In the same year, I was called for an interview at Deccan Herald andmy esteemed editor Mr. Shanth Kumar understood my condition and waswilling to give me an opportunity. A great feeling of triumph filledmy heart, as I could convince editor of a famous daily on my skills. From April 2004, I work in Deccan Herald, concentrating on editing andwriting assignments. I write on several topics, including ondisability affair. Sports, alas, isn't an option I have explored so far.

On the question of JAWS, I can afford it now, as my brother L.Prakash, went to work in Japan and bought that for me. My visualstatus is nothing more than total blindness.

The list of people I had interviewed includes:Film Stars Kamalhassan, Vikram, Surya, director Manirathnam, Dharani,music directors Bharadwaj, Harris Jayaraj, Hamsalekha, Gurukiran,Vidyasagar, tennis stars Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathy, Magnus Norman(former world no 4), Sjeng Schalken (present world no 20), ParadornSrichaphan (world no 12), Karol Kucera (former world no 6), GuillermoCanas (former world no 10) and Sania Mirza (who was a junior player in2000). (and the list isn't complete).

Sania Mania - What lies beneath

2005-10-01T13:43:00.000-07:00

Sania Mania - What lies beneath

Found at http://blockhole.blogspot.com/ is worthy of our time

The hype and hoopla surrounding Sania Mirza typifies what is wrong with Indian sports and reflects some serious loss of perspective. Even the thespians, I dare say are caught up in this fantasy – the fantasy of India having a potential Grand Slam winner in Sania Mirza.

I do not claim to be an expert in tennis but I have been an avid follower of the game for a long time – long enough to have seen a number of precocious talents burning out and a select few making it to the top echelons of the game. From recent memory, I can recollect a match between Serena Williams and the little known Angela Haynes who was dishing out winners more frequently than fries in McDonalds. Anybody who saw that match would vouch that Haynes has the tools to make it big - they just need to be harnessed. Likewise for Sania. I do not discard (wouldn't that be sacrilege?) any statements that have been made by our experts - she has a great forehand, she has the required measure of aggression, she has the potential to win a slam and so on. Well, May be. But then, may be not. More of that later.

Hopefully, everything that Sania's game promises will be achieved. But it all depends on how Sania's talents are tapped over a period of time and that makes it imperative that she does not lose perspective amidst all the surrounding jingoism. Not surprisingly , the most relevant statement about Sania was made recently by Mats Wilander (who is leading the Swedish Davis Cup team in India) - "The focus should be on becoming a better tennis player. It should not be on winning tournaments and rankings. It is the process that matters. Who knows, she can then be the top-two or the Number 1, or even win a Grand Slam”. Being a seven time grand slam champion, Wilander knows what he is talking about, which, sadly, is not the case with some of our national experts and columnists. Then there is this constant "She's only 18" fixation! Well, aren't they all that age? Graf, Hingis, Venus, Serena, Sharapova and many others were Grand Slam winners before they reached that age - some of them multiple times over. It's not the eighties any more when Tracy Austin and Andrea Jaegar were rareties. With the changing face of tennis, 18 is blooming time or at least close to it. From an Indian perspective, 18 is young but when you talk about winning grand slams you have got to take the global perspective. Sania has got to realize that and stop uttering the utterly defensive "I am only 18" one liner.

Coming to Sania's game, let’s dwell on those features that have been hailed by our tennis experts. Firstly, her forehand, which has already been labelled as "great" by all and sundry. "Potentially great" would, perhaps have been a better adjective, though. No single shot in tennis can be called "great" if it cannot break down your opponent’s game. Steffi Graf's forehand and Sampras' serve for example, were weapons which could absolutely mow down opponents. Sania has an explosive forehand but far from being relentless, it is sporadic and inconsistent. That was well highlighted in her recent loss in the Sunfeast open. Secondly, her aggressiveness, which at the moment, is more like Fernando Gonzales, the Chilean with a monster forehand who inevitably ends up having less hits than misses. All these plus more have to be worked upon to make a champion out of the Hyderabad belle. But it would require more than an ouce of perspective to achieve that.

The media of course has plummeted to an an all time low. Before Sania's match with Sharapova, there were more lines written about their T-Shirts and danglers than tennis. "The Telegraph" published a "face-off" profile of the two players in which we had things like "favourite movie","favourite song" etc. Excuse me! Are we in Broadway? I thought it was Flushing Meadows. Naresh Kumar, one of our veteran tennis experts, in one of his columns (again in "The Telegraph") expressed elation at Sania making Maria Sharapova "scamper" around the court. Well, Mr. Kumar, with all your knowledge and experience, you should know that it is the final scoreline that matters and not anything else. Rafael Nadal recently scampered his way to the French open crown as had Michael Chang in the past. Kim Clijsters was made to scamper by Venus Williams in the US open this year - but ended up winning it all. Sometimes top players are made to scamper - like Federer was, by Santoro recently - but they end up winning, all the same. I would, in fact go ahead and say that one of Sania's major weaknesses is that she cannot scamper. Far from that, her movement around the court is close to an embarrassment. The kinds of far-fetched comments and coverage that Sania is getting should ideally remain peripheral, but can affect a player in the practical scenario. Especially in a country like India where adulation can get to one's head, if you are as young as Sania is. We do not want Sania to be lured into a delusion about her game and what she has achieved.

So why doesn't everybody get out of the fantasy zone for once and get a reality check. Realize that "One forehand does not a champion make"! Or else Sania could end up among the pantheon of Indian sportspersons whose story has been "almost but not quite". And to the media, in Agassi's words "Go buy some perspective"!

Koneru Humpy and Sania Mirza ::and the mathmetics of publicity

2005-09-14T19:48:00.000-07:00

Koneru Humpy and Sania Mirza

This is an intresting write up where two players are compared .........both belong to same time .....both have their names recorded as first in indian sports .. and both are equally killing but still one face is recognised by billions and the other perhaps by only thousands .........what's wrong ??

Why government denied grants where it was most needed ??
The answer to this question lies in my earlier post "IS Y S R Reddy sincere about sania .......

Why the same media is dumb for the other ??
The answer to this question lies at http://shuuro.blogspot.com/ (which has been reproduced below) ........what is missing in ths article is that

publicity also depends in which area you excel .........Tennis has a huge following in Europe .......When we excel in areas where people in West have control we take pride ....This now comes naturally to people of sub continent ....When any one among them challenges the champions there people back home get confidence and want if they can replicate the success of their fellow ....
Our success in world cup in 1984 had rocketed the popularity of cricket ......If sania can acquire an attire of Top Tennis Player and stay there for long ...I bet next the big hit in Indian Sports is Tennis
The sale of Tennis rackets in hyderabad is a mild expression of it ..........

This is what media and sponsors Know's , and are throwing their wieghts behind Sania ......Chess already has our supremacy but still does not fantasize the minds of Indians .......
So Sania has economics standing behind her ..........Sorry for Koneru Humpy :the fundamenals of sponsorship does not stand behind her

The article goes ...........

I've been following Sania Mirza's modest success in tennis with some interest, she has certainly done country proud, specially when she won against Svetlana Kuznetsova in Dubai Open in march this year. At the same time, i'm perplexed at the publicity she receives, as it is not proportionate to her success and how media makes anything trivial about her as news (particularly in Deccan Chronicle, where a day doesn't go by without news item on her) and overstating her chances of success in a game. This makes me wonder, whether we don't know how to handle success which we achieve once in a while, so that we exaggerate things? or we don't have enough sports stars to write about or cheer for (other than cricketers)?. When i ask myself a basic question that why our people prefer tennis in the first place, as many of us give damn for our national sport kabadi! or for that matter any other sport (except cricket)?.

I think answers for these questions lies in the role of media and glamour of Sania in attracting masses to this game. Our yearning media has found someone, who is marketable with her glamour( also other factors) and who has modest success under her belt. Generally for a person to take interest in a new game, either the game should be appealing to him/her or they should have interest in someone, who participates in the game and for our people its the later case, since many people just follow only sania's games due to glamour and patriotism and doesn't have much interest in other tennis players or bother about news relating to the tennis world, for that matter most doesn't even know rules of the game. If one thinks that the glamour has nothing to do with her publicity & popularity, then they are wrong, we have many athletics and chess players who have achieved greater heights than sania in their respective sport, but there are in oblivion.

Media has created inflated image of her which will overshadow other deserving players as Koneru Humpy. Sania's world tennis ranking is 34 and Koneru Humpy is a women grand master with world ranking of 6 (in 2004 she was placed in 3rd place) and she has distinction of being first indian woman to achieve the Men's GM Title at age of 15 years, 1 Month, which in itself is a world record for Youngest-Ever Women to achieve the Men's GM Title. With so much talent she is starved of resources. Both the players are from the Andhra Pradesh state, Recently Humpy has made a appeal to the State government of Andhra Pradesh for their financial assistance, which she desperately needed to be trained for the world chess championships coming up early next year. But shockingly, state government has rejected her request and allocated 20 lakhs to Sania for her performance in the US Open and also decided to sponsor her visits abroad to participate in tournaments and her traveling coach John Farrington, where as already in last 3 months she had received total about 60 lakhs and housing plot from the state. Sania has corporate sponsor and earns lot of money through her endorsements and more over she has declared that she wouldn't be needing any financial support anymore. Let us suppose, if something of this kind is done to Sania would our media and public remain quite? perhaps no. People may view chess as a game where 2 persons push pieces of wood on 64 squares, this perspective could be changed, if our media promotes sports instead of individuals and stop exaggerating significance of reaching 4th round of a particular grand slam.

It is not the public who takes interest but it is the media who creates interest!.

Dollars US Federal Government made out of Sania

2005-09-11T00:05:00.000-07:00

India’s ace tennis player Sania, has to pay tax to US Government on her prize money. India have entered into a double taxation treaty with several developed countries like the US and UK, and therefore Sania need not pay tax to India . Sania earned $70,000 ( appox. Rs 30 lakhs) for her pre quarter final appearance at the US Open. Of this, 35 per cent tax is deducted in tune with US tax laws and she gets only US $45,500 .

Total tax that Sania will pay is huge, her total earning is US$ 1,07,950, and tax @ 35 % is US $ 37,782.5. The details of the games played and prize money earned are as given below :

At US Open————— US $ 70,000 ,
At Acua Classic———US $ 12,775 ,
At Forest Hills———- US $ 12,000 ,
At Bank of West———-US $ 7,600 ,
At Cincinnati Open—- US $ 3,900 ,
At JP Morgan Classic– US $ 1,675

Is Y S Rajasekhara Reddy sincere about Sania

2005-09-10T23:13:00.000-07:00

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy today announced Rs 20 lakh to tennis sensation Sania Mirza in recognition of her ''excellent performance'' in the US Open tennis championship in New York.

................This is another action at the government level that must raise the question ???

Rationale(On paper) behind such an action is : Government is sincere in promoting the sports and budding talents .The government recognises the talents and ensure that potential talents are not left behind in the scarcity of funds

The rational above demonstrate how public authorities justifies themselves .

Actual Rationale behind such an action : -Sania is a well known face now in india .People are tracking her actions and acheivments .Any grant or prize that she recieves is well covered in media and has a substantial numer of readers .Piggybacking on Sania they reach to such an audience .

Making grants to Koneru Humpy will not catch the eyes of masses ......so what the purpose of Y S Rajasekhara Reddy diverting money to her .............how good she may be what will he get ???(Laloo philosiophy !)

Our media covers such an action with fan fare without thought analysis arround it .Such news must be covered along with their proper analysis . A responsible media must focus in making its readers good critique .

A media that only covers such news is dumb .They are the unintelligent transmitters of information .An information that once received is not tranformed into Knowledgde .

Making wish the father of fact

2005-09-10T22:43:00.000-07:00

This is an intresting article with a very subtle line "tendency to make wish the father of fact goes beyond tennis matches. "..........the article is the live demonstration of how our decision making ability is afected
by our illusions ......figure of 82% thinking out of the facts and going wrong is substantial .....

The article uses Sania as an illustration to challenge statments like " India is already a major force to be reckoned with" and warns against the possible premature triumphalism

In a TV poll conducted hours before Sania Mirza's fourth round match against Maria Sharapova in the US Open, a full 82 per cent of those taking part in the poll predicted a Mirza victory. In another poll, 55 per cent felt Sharapova would be under greater pressure than Mirza.

The score for the one-sided match that followed may have been unfair to Mirza, but there was little doubt that it was an unequal contest, and at no stage did anything other than a Sharapova win look likely. Yet, large numbers in India had convinced themselves that a Mirza win was on the cards.

This is not a column about sport. The poll on Mirza's chances is relevant because the tendency to make wish the father of fact goes beyond tennis matches. For instance, the easy assumption by many people today is that the 2003 BRICs report by Goldman Sachs has pre-ordained India's destiny as one of the great economic powers of the 21st century.

Indeed, some would argue that India is already a major force to be reckoned with. This, unfortunately, is at the same level of wishful thinking as the 82 per cent who forecast a Sania Mirza victory.

Like Mirza, India has the potential to achieve greatness. And just as Mirza has to work hard at improving her serve and her mobility on court, and reducing the errors in her ground strokes, India has many things to do before it can hope to be among the front-ranking economic powers.

The inescapable fact is that even today India accounts for only 2 per cent of the world's GDP, less than 1 per cent of world trade, less than 1 per cent of global investment flows and an even smaller share of global technology breakthroughs - with 16 per cent of the world's people

While it is good to be optimistic and to be conscious about the country's latent potential, and indeed to capitalise on recent positive trends, it would be dangerous to get into the mindset that says we have already arrived.

The distance to be covered between today's reality and tomorrow's potential was emphasised in bold relief this last week, with the release of UNDP's latest Human Development Report. At a rank of 127, India is still among the laggards. And despite the front-ranking rate of 7 per cent economic growth, we are making precious little progress in education, health care, sanitation and other elements of social infrastructure.

Most other international rankings also show India in a poor light, whether it is the World Economic Forum's competitiveness report, or Transparency International's corruption perception index. In none of them do we matchSania Mirza's global rank of 42, and she to her credit is likely to move up the numbers ladder faster than the country.

The problem with celebrating too early - and there are many elements in both the political and media worlds that have made a religion of premature triumphalism - is that we ignore the hard work that has to be done today, and the tough decisions that have to be taken.

To the credit of the UPA government, it has posed questions on basic issues to do with employment and education, empowerment and social security. The problem, of course, is not with the questions but with some of the UPA's answers.

The even bigger problem is that some other questions are not being asked - about the continuing mess in power, the other constraints imposed by India's physical infrastructure, the unfinished and perhaps abandoned task of fiscal correction, the absence of reform in agriculture, and much else. And when questions are not even asked, there are, of course, no answers.

If one can look for other parallels in the world of sport, it would be the Indian cricket team - full of individual stars, and full of potential, but without the organising ability to mount the sustained team effort and consistent performance that wins tournaments.

Pray that does not become the fate of the Indian economy - where we celebrate individual success while the team as a whole fails to perform.

Maria Sharapova

2005-09-08T09:16:00.000-07:00

Sanialogy

2005-09-08T08:11:00.000-07:00

SIDDHARTHA MISHRA
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 07, 2005

Ach mein Gott! 'Oh my God!' in German Usage: Prahlad Kakkar (ad man) — "In India, you're either a goddess or shit. Sania’s a goddess." Ach mein

Gott!lawesomeness: Better than awesome Usage: Alyque Padamsee (ad man) — "Sania’s the most sassy sportsperson on the Indian scene today." That's awesomeness.

Bam: A person that must be worshipped Usage: Angad Bedi (TV show host) — "Sania makes me a proud Indian." Bam... that's her.

cawinky-dink: Great coincidence Usage: Alyque: "Good looks, good skills, great attitude." Whadda cawinky-dink!

duff: hot Usage: Anirban Das (brand builder) — "Sania’s the third most clicked female player after Sharapova and Serena." Comes with being truly doff

duff: hot Usage: Anirban Das (brand builder) — "Sania’s the third most clicked female player after Sharapova and Serena." Comes with being truly doff.

emo: Short for emotion Usage: Anirban — "She’s not someone you remember when you switch on the TV and forget when you switch it off." That's just a demo of her emo.

F4: destined to lead the world Usage: Alyque — "She’ll have a far bigger following than Sharapova can ever dream of." Press F4. for real real: 'For real' emphasised

Usage: Armaana Sodhi (model) — "She gives out positive vibes that make you want to go, get it. You connect." She's for real real.

go-to: Someone you depend on Usage: Sofiya Azad (student) — "She’s no bimbo. That’s why she performs so consistently." Way to go, go-to girl!

gsr: Good significant response Usage: Anirban — "Sania’s marketability is unprecedented bar Sachin." That’s a gsr.

irregardless: Since the prefix 'ir' and the suffx 'less'both mean 'not or with', they cancel each other out, so you get ‘regard’ Usage: Freddie Birdie (ad man) — "Sania’s an interesting phenomenon. We're starved of icons, she's one." irregardless.

Kid A: To completely reinvent style Usage: Alyque — "Sachin has a nice-guy image, Amitabh has ..dignity, Shah Rukh has charisma. None of them has the pizzazz or vibrancy that Sania has." She’s Kid A.

M.A.G.I.C.: Most Attractive Girl In Class Usage: Alyque — "She'll become a bigger brand than the Williams sisters. Sania's better looking anyday!" That’s M.A.G.I.C.!

P.Y.B.O.: Put Your Balls On! Just do it! Usage: Piyush Pandey (ad man) — "Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Sania’s brave enough to experiment." P.Y.B.O. Like her.

shinda shima: Cool person Usage: Sofia — "People are famous for various reasons. Sania is famous for never giving up." So shinda shima!

silks: Item of great worth Usage: Bipasha Basu (actress) — "She's heading a country in her way. She has the ability to reach out." Silksy!

smft: So much for that Usage: Anirban — "Tennis is the priority. We might take up just one more deal over the five ads Sania has." smft.

tarantism: Urge to be funky Usage: Alyque: "There’s a sassy attitude... there’s so much vibrancy, life in Sania... it's unique." It's tarantism.

Uber-Micro: Pro-game talk for skills Usage: Angad — "She, a girl, has shown that we, Indians, seen to be weak, are capable of power play." Uber-Micro's taken her there.

V8: A kick-ass engine showing how inefficient earlier engines were Usage: Ayaan Ali Bangash (sarod artiste) — "With due respect to Leander and Mahesh,

Sania’s taken tennis to another level. People in NY are talking about her." V8 hai naa. lwomyn: Variation 'woman' used to show how offensive the word 'man' can be Usage: Ayaan — "She’s an example for all."

(Words sourced from urbandictionary.com)

Right in her garden

2005-09-08T07:45:00.000-07:00