Skirting the issue

Skirting the issue
By Akshay A. Kalbag
Much has been said about teenage tennis sensation Sania Mirza’s skirts in the last few weeks.
But then unnecessary meanings have been read into everything she does–critics questioned her talent and tagged her sex symbol a la Anna Kournikova, and then, there was talk about how she goes against her religious beliefs by boldly wearing T–shirts with whacky messages.
To be fair to Anna Kournikova, the Russian beauty’s (enri)quest for glory ended with her ‘court’ship with a hunky pop star. The former tennis star (?) was known for her good looks, and not for her talent.
Sania has played against some of the best players in the world–Svetlana Kuznetsova, Nadia Petrova, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, et al. She may have lost some of those matches, but she is hungry for more, as any young rising star should be. And, oh yeah, she wins hearts–billions of them, considering that Indians have set up bases all over the globe.
Sporting tee–shirts with messages is not just a fashion statement, but now thanks to Sania’s ability to carry them off so well, it’s become an attitude. She’s one of the young achievers from India (that’s the key word here–achiever) that our generation should try to emulate.
As for the skirts, she’s made those a rage too, but it’s more for professional reasons. Sania knows that it’s all in the minds of the so–called moral police. Much as they also get their kicks out of ogling at her on–court in her skirts, their double standards must not come in the way of her becoming a role model for other young women.
As long as the simple Hyderabadi teenager is happy being the embodiment of the ‘girl next door’, she need not worry about the prudes with such double standards.
On her part, Sania will not take these baseless allegations too seriously. She’ll coolly go on playing her game (in skirts, of course!) and looking to improve her ranking of 34 before the next season starts.