(MENAFN- The Peninsula) A trail-blazer for women's tennis in India, Sania Mirza has been hounded by controversy throughout her career, accused of corrupting the country's youth and even faced a fatwa for wearing short skirts on court.
Given how often the 27-year-old finds herself at the sharp end of gossip and political debate, her dedication to Indian tennis is all the more remarkable.
Mirza added the Asian Games mixed doubles gold medal to her collection of international titles on Monday, teaming up with Saketh Myneni to beat Taiwan's Peng Hsien-yin and Chan Hao-chin 6-4, 6-3 in Incheon.
'I don't do it for anyone else,' Mirza said.
'I do it for myself, and for the country. I think there's a few silly people out there, but you can't make everyone happy all the time. I've done it time and again - and it's my eighth Asian Games medal.'
Mirza, who has put Indian tennis on the map with a hat-trick of grand slam mixed doubles victories, also took bronze in the women's doubles. Her eight medals stretch back to the 2002 Busan Games, when she was the baby of the team.
'There were lots of emotions going on tonight,' added Mirza, who decided relatively late in the day to compete in South Korea.
She returned to controversy after a leader of the ruling BJP party called the Mumbai-born star a 'daughter-in-law of Pakistan' because of her marriage to Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik.
Mirza was furious and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to step in to defuse the situation, inviting her for tea in new Delhi.
'It's not easy being me,' said Mirza, once famously accused of corrupting India's youth for advocating safe sex. 'But I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm used to it now. I grew up in the limelight, I'm a veteran now. If you take the pros you've got to take the cons too.'
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