Sports not for boys anymore: Sania Mirza after India win Women’s World Cup

India Today

Women's World Cup: Former Indian tennis star Sania Mirza heaped praise on the Indian women's team and congratulated them after their win over South Africa in the final on Sunday at the Dr DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.

Transcript

00:00Joining me now is another special guest. I am joined by one of the iconic figures of sport

00:05and women's sport in particular in this country, Sanya Mirza, Grand Slam winner on multiple

00:11occasions, four-time Olympian, number one in world doubles tennis. Appreciate your joining us,

00:19Sanya. Like you, the women of cricket have become trendsetters. What does it feel like

00:27when you know that India is the world champion now in women's cricket? For you as a sports person,

00:34as an Indian, what did that moment feel like? No, first of all, congratulations to all of us

00:42and to our great country. But I think that what the women have done for us today just shows

00:50the kind of sacrifice and the commitment that's been going on for the last 25, 30 years. And I'm

00:56so glad to see that the recognition, the stands full. You know, there was a question that was

01:02asked to Harmanpreet saying, oh, usually you guys don't have in the press conference, usually you

01:07guys don't have so much of ticket issues, right? But I'm sure at this time, you know, like the men

01:15cricketers usually do. And it's so good to hear that she also has those issues. And it's truly what

01:21an incredibly amazing moment for all of us. And honestly, as a female athlete coming from India,

01:29this does feel personal. And I know it's not personal, but it just does feel so personal.

01:39You know, because you, as I said, also broke a glass ceiling in a way by competing and winning in

01:45grand slams. Is that part of the attraction you think of women's sport in India? Because what you

01:51do is you break prejudice and you break barriers. Is that how you also felt when you won? And do you

01:58think a similar feeling is what you felt yesterday watching the women win?

02:03You know, honestly, that's not what you feel when you win. What you feel is proud. We as female

02:10athletes have been trying for many, many generations, I should say to try to make a mark. And you know,

02:17there's always a there's one that happens. And then we don't hear of incredible women athletes,

02:23maybe because of the kind of acknowledgement they receive is not as much as the others do. But this

02:31to happen the way it's happened at the world stage World Cup happening in India, India winning, I mean,

02:37these are what great stories and dreams are made of. And you can see it on the faces of all these

02:44young girls. But I did see a video on social media, which was actually really heartening to see

02:50the the cricketers, the women cricketers that had played there was Mithali Raj, you know, in that and

02:59Anjum Chopra and everybody was like almost saying thank you and holding up the trophy. And, you know,

03:06they were lifting it up like they had one. And that's how personal it feels for everyone. So you

03:12don't really feel Oh, my God, we've broken a glass thing. What you do feel is extremely proud. You feel

03:16extremely honored to be in that position. And and, you know, just it's a matter of great pride to be

03:22able to hold that trophy be world champions. And and yeah, I mean, the scenes and those pictures say it

03:29all. Is it easier today, you think that it was 20 years ago, when you started off? Do you think

03:38because of aspirational levels, there's far more money in sport, even in women's sport? Do you think

03:44it becomes easier to fulfill your dreams today than it was 2025 years ago? Yeah, I think so. I think that

03:52I don't know if it's easier in terms of effort, effort is still the same, but it's definitely easier in terms

03:57of the belief. You know, it's always hard to be the first to do things. And because there's no

04:03actually pathway to follow. And there's not really, you know, you don't really, you make your own

04:08mistakes, you learn from your own mistakes, and then you, you know, succeed sometimes. But I feel

04:14that today, there's, when you say women's cricket, when you say a female athlete, when you say a world

04:20champion from India, who's who's a female, in any sport, I think people take it seriously. And when you

04:27when you when a young girl or young kid tells their parent that I want to be Smriti Mandana,

04:33I want to be Sanya Mirza, I want to be TV Sindhu or Mary Com, the parents don't say it's a ridiculous

04:41dream. I think today they say that yes, you can do it. So I do feel that that that mentality has kind

04:48of shifted. And that's why we will also see more young girls playing more young girls becoming

04:53champions. And, you know, India on the world map.

05:00You made an important point, because your parents were hugely supportive,

05:03through good times and bad. Do you believe that's the key? I'm, you know, many of these girls have

05:09come from small towns, their parents have sacrificed a lot. That seems to be one of the big changes that

05:15it is almost as if today, having a girl child who wants to play sport, the parents are playing an

05:23important role in encouraging them to play sport, in comparison to 20-25 years ago.

05:29See, I think the thing is that that was always the case. But, you know, because of the lack of

05:34lack of opportunity, lack of acknowledgement, lack of, you know, just the belief that the parents

05:43actually believe that, oh, my God, my child can play cricket or play tennis or play whatever they

05:47want, and be professional at it, and actually earn a living from it, or get recognition from it, and

05:53play for the country for it. I don't think that belief existed before. And my parents, obviously, you

05:58know, we're talking about over 30 years ago, where they believed that and they were probably a minority

06:03at that point, to come out and say that no matter what, we don't really don't care, you know, we're

06:09playing for the love of it. And people at that point, just actually played for the love of sport,

06:14the recognition and the TV and the money and everything else comes much, much, much later,

06:19if at all. So but today, things have changed. I mean, you see big hoardings, billboards, ads,

06:26you see all a lot of female athletes on them from all different genres of sport. And I think that today,

06:33parents believe that my child, you know, my child can become a professional athlete, and that can

06:41bring and it won't be a waste of time. And sport is not just for boys anymore.

06:50One final word, what do you want to say to the team? Is there a special message that you have for

06:56Harman, Preet and the entire team? Oh, my gosh, I just want to say congratulations to all of them. I got to

07:01spend some time with a few of them on the team a couple of years ago. And it was so incredible to

07:06actually hear stories from them about where they've come from, how they started playing cricket. And I

07:13just want to say that you've made the entire nation proud, needless to say, but as a fellow female

07:19athlete, this feels personal. And thank you for doing this for us and for our country.

07:25Sania Mirza, as I said, you've also been one of the trendsetters and pathbreakers for you to join us

07:36on this very special day is also special. So thank you very much for your contribution. And of course,

07:42to the incredible women cricketers who've scaled the pinnacle of their sport. Thanks for joining us.

07:47Thank you. Thanks for having me.

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