A fairytale year for Sania Mirza

For Sania Mirza 2005 proved to be a decisive year in her career. Her talent was recognised a couple of years ago but in the current year she bedazzled the tennis lovers with her passion for the game.

She was hardly noted on the international circut at the beginning of the year but had notched up an unprecedented 175 points to catapult to a career-high of 31. She is ending the year at 34 and is now amongst the most talked-about players in international circuit.

Not only she made it to the fourth round of Grand Slam and won a WTA tournament but also beat a Top Ten ranked player and put up stiff resistance against top players. She gave tough competition to the cricketers and became a brand unto herself.

Though her feats are yet to match that of PT Usha and Malleswari in their respective games, Sania Mirza brought tremendous interest in the game. Her remarks were twisted, often misrepresented or minuderstood but Mirza remained at the centre through out the year.

She edited Times of India for a day, participated in HT leadership initiative and her statements on pre-marital sex, which she claimed were twisted, cause furore. She invited fatwas and the wrath of self-styled maulans but also the public came out in full support of her. The Muslim community also found an icon in her.