Sania Mirza

(Penguin Petit)

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I have always been true to myself and my family, and I don’t ever want to be any other way.’

The first time Sania Mirza picked up a tennis racquet, she was just six years old. Twenty-three years on, the ace tennis star with several incredible achievements and a Padma Bhushan to her credit, feels anything but tiny, both on and off the court.

In a country obsessed with cricket, and with few women sports stars, Mirza crossed the $4 million-mark in net worth in 2014. At an age when most tennis players retire, she has given her career a fresh lease of life by turning her focus entirely to the doubles, and her partnership with former world no. 1, Martina Hingis, is paying off handsomely.

But what did it take for Sania Mirza to become an icon, to break the taboo around professional sports for young Indian girls? Read on as Gunjan Jain offers a glimpse into a journey that is compelling to say the least.