Her ace

Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi,hiding behind their fathers,who are actually grandfathers now,were like cry babies at school,complaining about the bench partner assigned to them. They stamped their feet,threw tantrums,floated threats and even went weeping to the principals office,in this case the one at Shastri Bhavan. But unlike the men she grew up idolising,Mirza didnt make the pathetic attempt at arm-twisting,posturing or straight-up blackmailing. Like in the past,despite her reservations,Mirza was ready to play with the partner the selector had picked for her but not before she had spoken her mind. In a caustic letter to the media,she alleged that the All India Tennis Association AITA had double standards. Her complaint about the persecution of Indian womanhood may have been overblown,but most remarkably in this episode,she did not take recourse to shadow-boxing. She spoke her own mind and lodged her own protest.

Such an outburst is a rarity in Indian sport that runs on patronage and has a stifling hierarchy among players. Mirzas main grudge was about being used as a bait to pacify a disgruntled stalwart. Actually,it was more a case of Mirza being used as a rattle to silence a couple of wailing grown-up kids. Just for speaking her mind,Mirza deserves respect an ovation too.

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