Picture Credit: Twitter
Indian tennis stalwart Sania Mirza thanked the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi for his heartfelt letter celebrating her incredible career. Mirza recently concluded a glorious 20-year-long career after a first-round loss at the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championships in February 2023.
The 36-year-old expressed gratitude towards PM Modi and stated that she will continue to make her country proud no matter what she goes on to do next. In the letter, PM Modi praised Sania by calling her a "champion" and wrote that she has "left an indelible mark on Indian sports, inspiring the coming generation of athletes".
Taking to Twitter, Mirza said, “I would like to thank you Honorable Prime Minister @narendramodi Ji for such kind and inspiring words. I have always taken great pride in representing our country to the best of my ability and will continue to do whatever I can to make India proud. Thank you for your support.”
The letter by the Prime Minister highlighted how Sania Mirza has impacted Indian sports over 20 years. PM Modi spoke about her marvelous accolades and her numerous efforts to better women’s sports in the country. He also thanked her parents for supporting her in this journey and wished her the best of luck in her future endeavours.
Talking about her career, Sania Mirza has carried Indian tennis on her shoulder as she became the first Indian to win a WTA singles title at the Hyderabad event in 2005. She then reached the top 30 by 2007 and achieved her career-high ranking of world number 27.
She then shifted her focus to the doubles discipline and went on to win the mixed doubles at the French Open in 2012 and the US Open two years later. Then in 2015, Mirza teamed up with Swiss Martina Hingis and secured victories at Wimbledon and the US Open, and the Australian Open in 2016.
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