Sania Mania to Manic Sania?

As expected Martina Hingis has won the SunFeast open ; as expected Hingis met Sania in the SemiFinal of the open; and again, as expected the Swiss Miss defeated the Indian tennis star in that match. Defeated did I say? The word should actually be drubbed, clobbered, humiliated - for once, the scoreline (6-1, 6-0) exactly indicated how the match went - absolutely lopsided; Sania had no answers to Hingis' graceful strokes, while Sania's "powerful" shots were totally out of control. Yes, everybody has a bad day, but then a great athlete will pull oneself out of the abyss and try to scale the peak again. One hasn't seen Sania do this in a long long time and the next time she opines that it is "humanly impossible to perform at the same level every year", one should just ask her to look across the net at the likes of Martina Hingis - the comeback star of the year - or at the other Martina who turned pro years before Sania was even born and who recently announced her retirement after winning her n^th grand slam title!

Same time last year, Sania was at the peak of her career and much admired. Just back from the US Open where she went up to the fourth round, she truly was the icon of many a youngster in this country, symbolic of what we Indians can achieve if we really wish to do so. She was brazen, intrepid, dauntless and irreverent - the future face of India. Despite what she showed she could achieve I do believe that the welcome she got on her return home was uncalled for - she wasn't yet a champion, not even close, having just started on a grueling, arduous journey on the road towards becoming one, maybe someday. And Sania should have known this - but she revelled in the accolade, the adulation and the laurels, and started to believe she was worthy of it, that she has indeed reached the top, scaled the peak.

When she was awarded the Padmashree last year I remember asking hubby, an ardent sports fan, if she really deserved it. To me, it seemed to come way too early in her career. The criteria to get a Padmashree award is defined as "excellence in their field". When did one decently good year translate to "excellence" in one's field? One cannot expect a child just learning to take his/her first steps to run - it has to be taken one step at a time, stumbling and getting up again, first with help and than without, getting a footing first and then finally taking a leap. Even if you do race down the track on your first outing, you would need to step back and evaluate your performance, so that the first race doesn't become the last one. But for some reason the powers that be decided that Sania Mirza was worth a "Padma" award. And Sania herself never seemed to have looked at the year gone by objectively, critically.

This premature "recognition" of her "greatness" also seems to have gone to Sania's head. She has fallen a couple of notches down from the peak she presumed she had scaled last year, yet her head seems to be still stuck somewhere in the clouds above. I know she is indeed a role model for a lot of youngsters in the country today, and she has an an implicit social responsibility. But it still doesn't warrant her saying , "An `if or but' from my lips can create a national crisis''. I know she is young, and probably doesn't realize the enormity of what she is saying, yet the same social responsibility that she is referring to requires her to think and act more sensibly, isn't it? The conceit in her tone and the speech, I am sure, isn't really lost nor is it actually condonable.

What is even worse is this - such haughty effrontery might have been absolutely welcome on the court, in her pursuit of becoming a champion, may also have been looked at more generously if she had been in the same league as, say, Leander Paes. But coming from her - a 19-year-old who has just stepped on to the court of fame - it is getting a little uppity. I don't know what Sania was thinking, but I sure am glad the Chief Minister did put her in her place and told her she should concentrate more on her game.

Success doesn't come easy. And it doesn't sit easy on anyone's head. Sania has the game, and has the power in her shots - but she is no way close to being a winner, a real champion. Yes, she is not even 20, but then so is Maria Sharapova and the distance between them is apparent - both on and off the courts. In this sports-personalities-starved nation it is easy to become someone the public reveres, but that doesn't necessarily make one a winner. Victory of any kind has to be won, gotten by a lot of sweat, strength of will and hardness of heart; not to forget extreme decency and dignity and sensibility.

Sania, you have a long way to go and it would help you as well as the millions who idolize you if the focus was indeed on the path ahead. You need role models? Look around you, they are all there - from Pete Sampras to Steffi Graf to Federer.

Note: Check this post out. Arun Kumar Bharadwaj's achievements are amazing. And now compare him to Sania Mirza. Where does she really stand in terms of what she has accomplished? But has any one really heard about this ultrarunner? Isn't that truly sad state of affairs?