Sania was told to stop playing tennis as 'no one would marry' her

 A trailblazer in Indian tennis, Sania Mirza on Thursday revealed that as a child, she was once asked to stop playing as " one would marry" her if her complexion turned "dark" due to rigours of an outdoor sport. 

Speaking at World Ecomic Forum in New Delhi, Sania, who has three doubles and an equal number of mixed doubles Grand Slams to her credit, reflected on challenges she faced during a panel discussion on women and leership. Sania remains India's most successful woman tennis player, rising to a career-high world . 27 in mid-2007 in WTA singles chart. 

"To start with, parents, neighbours, aunties and uncles (need to) stop telling you how dark you will become and one will marry you if you play a sport. I was just eight (when this came up) and everybody thought body is going to marry me because I would get dark. I thought to myself I am just a kid, I'll be fine," said 32-year-old.

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"It is so deeply embedded, this culture about how a girl needs to be pretty and by that also one means fair, I don't kw why. This culture has to change," ded Hyderabi, who also has 41 WTA doubles titles to her credit and was world .1 in women's doubles in 2015.

Married to Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik, Sania is currently working towards a comeback to professional circuit next year after taking a break to become a mor. Reflecting on her journey, Sania said she h just sprint legend P T Usha to look up to in her growing up years but times have evolved for better and several women athletes are becoming role models for current crop of aspiring athletes.

"I feel proud that I h, may be, a little part to play in women taking up sport. only sportswoman I could look up to was PT Usha and she was a couple of generations before me. Today we can name PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, Dipa Karmakar, so many of m," she said. 

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"We still have some way to go...I still don't think re are equal opportunities. But we have superstars w and y are biggest in sports outside cricket. Imagine what will happen y actually get equal opportunities," she asserted. 

Elaborating her take on general attitude towards professionally successful women, Sania cited a recent interaction to assert that women are still judged for how good a homemaker y are. 

"I was at Mumbai airport, a gentleman came and told me that 'morhood is suiting you'. He took a picture and asked me where my son was, I told him he is in Hyderab. His next sentence was 'you should be with him'."I told him 'where is your child?' He said 'at home'. I told him 'well you should be with him too'. He didn't think that re was anything insulting to ask me that," she recalled. 

Sania said it is t just random strangers who are capable of asking awkward questions. 

"In my case, questions came from close family members, t outsiders. y (close family members) are ones who question you most and make you doubt yourselves," revealed United Nations' Women's Goodwill Ambassor for South Asia.

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