Jewels of India

Saina Nehwal and Sania Mirza have redefined the Indian approach to sporting excellence

Saina and Sania, when spoken in tandem, could be one well-strung tongue-twister. Yet the names of these two phenomenal Indian women athletes have been on the lips of everyone. One after the other, they have scaled the summit in their disciplines, breaking through stereotypical conventions and myopic visions.

That both Saina Nehwal and Sania Mirza play racquet sports and come from the city of Hyderabad only make their success stories intriguing. They also have been iconic sportspersons for the country for a decade now and attract a following which was once a privilege of their men counterparts. Four years apart, the two have charted their unique journeys, linked by sheer grit, fearless attitude and an unquenchable thirst to be the best in the world.

An 18-year-old Sania was already a tennis star when Saina was taking baby steps on the world badminton scene. In fact, the 14-year-old dreamed to be as successful as Sania but followed her own course.

The 2006 Philippines Open win had brought Saina to the spotlight in the badminton world. Sania, by then, had already been a star after a sensational 2005 that saw her reach the third round of the Australian Open. She had caught the imagination of the tennis world and Indian masses alike.

Her off-court persona, be it her glasses, her nose rings and earrings collection, or even her funky T-shirts had obsessed the nation. Her no-nonsense attitude and defiance to the norms came as a breath of fresh air in a male-dominated society.

Parents had their young daughters queuing up to the tennis courts. She was a rage, a teen icon — her fashion quotient and independent ways as admired as her monstrous forehand. Sania, as a she often says, had grown in the limelight and learnt to handle myriad controversies that came her way, be it on wearing skirts or her marriage to Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik in 2010.

 Saina, on the other hand, made a quiet entry before charming the country and the world with a string of victories. Badminton was not as glamorous a sport as tennis. The last Indian hero in the sport came in the form of her former coach Pullela Gopichand, that, too, a decade ago. Unlike Sania, she was no fashion icon. Coming from a middle class family, she wanted to live up to the expectations and sacrifices of her parents. Shorts, sports T-shirt, boy cut hair and two circular earrings defined a teenaged Saina apart from a brute determination and utter distaste of defeats. She wanted to beat everyone; for her everyone was beatable. Her mental toughness in pressure situations is something that her coaches still talk about.

That stood true for Sania, too. She just wouldn’t like to give up. On the back of some exceptional performances, she raced to her career-high ranking of World No 27 in singles in 2007, beating big names like former world No 1 Martina Hingis, Dinara Safina, and Victoria Azarenka besides Svetlana Kuznetsova, Vera Zvonareva and Marion Bartoli.

But wrist and knee injuries followed and threatened to cut short her career. Even lifting a fork had become a task for her. She knew she had to make a choice. Despite being tempted to play singles, Sania had to pick doubles. “It was a question of whether playing for six months and not playing ever or shifting to doubles and prolonging my career. It was a very tough decision at that time. I still had the game to play the singles but not the body. But it is a decision which has paid off. I am the World No 1 in doubles today, something which no one can take away from me. It, definitely, did make up for quitting the singles,” Sania said.

Her builder father, Imran Mirza, who has protected her daughter against all odds, vouches for her strong will power. “Sport has been my life. I used to like tennis besides cricket and that’s when I decided to coach Sania. I used to interact with different coaches before teaching her. One thing that stands out in her even today is that if she has made up her mind to do something, she will achieve it no matter what. She is a fighter. She trains really hard. In women’s tennis, more than technique, it is about handling emotions. As a father, I could understand her. After a loss, the last thing I would discuss was tennis,” he said.

Her switch to doubles bore fruits with a string of impressive results in the Grand Slams. She won three in mixed doubles starting with the 2009 Australian Open, 2012 French Open and  2014 French Open. With Elena Vesnina she also reached the women’s doubles final at the 2011 French Open. But it was in 2014 she put together one of her most successful years, ending as World No 6.  

Her partnership with Martina Hingis in 2015 came as a welcome sign. They won their first two tournaments of the season. A title at Family Circle Cup was to seal her No 1 status. Sania admitted spending an anxious night before the final. “The anticipation was there for some time. I knew I would become World No 1 if we won. I had nurtured that dream for the last 22 years, so I had trouble sleeping at night before. Thankfully, everything turned out fine,” she said.

“I had worked so hard to be there, everything flashed in front of my eyes as we won the last point. It has been such an unbelievable journey.”

Sania’s father was there to support her at Charleston. “I could make out they had started choking as they came closer to victory. Martina, in trying to help her, was getting affected too. So I was there on the sidelines, cheering them and telling them how they were the better side. It worked. It was wonderful day for all of us,” Imran said.  “There had been so many sacrifices. But as long as one make them willingly, it is fine.”

Saina’s story was also not without sacrifices. “My father is a scientist and he could never think of putting me in any sport. He wanted me to be a doctor. But my mom would tell me secretly that I will make you an Olympic champion. I was only nine but she was very serious,” laughed the now Olympic medalist.

“My father supported me in every way. He never made me feel the financial crunch the family would face. I used to go to school in an auto, which was 25km away and everyday he would give me Rs 200-300. It was only when I was 18 that I got to know that the last 10 years were so tough on him.”

This only motivated Saina to strive harder on her road to World No 1, which she clinched on March 28 at the India Open and regained it this week. It was an addition to her many firsts, but the one she holds most dear. “To maintain form for so many years is not easy in a sport like badminton which is so physically demanding. The pain we (shuttlers) experience after training each night, only we know. We can’t even get sleep, our legs hurt so much. But when you reach milestones like these, you forget everything.”

For Sania, the World No 1 status in doubles came a couple of weeks later and made the country sit up in awe. The tale of Sania and Saina is one of relentless efforts, sheer toil and overcoming self-doubts. None want to stop here. While Sania wants more Grand Slams and an Olympic medal, Saina wants to better her Olympics medal at Rio, and win World Championships and All England titles.

The two symbolise the new women power in Indian sport. They have broken barriers and shown that dreams are meant to chased and achieved. They have inspired a generation of youngsters, especially girls. People had questions when they had started. Today they hold the answers.