DOHA: Indian tennis star Sania Mirza yesterday told students at DPS-Modern Indian School (MIS) that a career in sport wasn’t a bad thing as long as they had the appetite for professional sport.
The hugely popular tennis player also told the students irrespective of their career choices that seeking higher education must be their ‘priority’.
“I would like to suggest to the students who want to take up sport as a professional career that they should be talented first,” Mirza said in a speech at Al Wakrah campus of DPS.
“All sportsmen believe that sport can be a profession, even for the girls, but my advice is — no matter what you do, you must complete your education first. Completing your education is very important. I have done it,” Mirza said.
She urged the school administration and parents to extend the students the freedom to choose what they like. “My school helped me in big way. I got extra classes and was not bound to school attendance,” Mirza said. The visit was arranged by DPS-MIS, in collaboration with Qatar Tennis Federation.
School President Hasan A K Chougule and Principal Asna Nafeesa delivered keynote speeches, welcoming the tennis icon.
Chougule recited a stanza of a poetry in Urdu, recognising Mirza’s achievements in the tennis world.
To a question from a student, Mirza said her principal and headmistress gave her a free hand to pursue her career as a professional tennis player. They told me that the school will support you. They helped me with attendance. They helped me attend special classes.
“Every time when I came back after a month and a half or two months, they gave me extra classes, extra three hours. The teachers helped me so much. I studied 16 and 17 hours for my 10th grade and subsequent board exams. Thanks to my school, I obtained first grades in both exams. If my school hadn’t helped me, it might have been very difficult for me to complete my education.
“You should do what you love, no matter what. Do not let anyone tell you what you need to do.
“If you don’t enjoy what you do, it is not worth doing it, I promise you that. Even today at 29, I am enjoying playing tennis. The day I stop enjoying, I will stop playing. Naturally, my parents brought me up well. I hope your parents and school teachers inspire and guide you,” she said.
“It is always nice to see so many Indian faces in Dubai or Doha. I feel I am coming home. I have been coming here for many years. It does not feel I am out of the country, so thanks DPS School for welcoming me,” Mirza said.
“I go to a lot of events around the world and we have a lot of media commitments. But for me, it is very special to meet schoolchildren and I meet kids because I am one of you people,” Mirza said to a loud cheer from the children. This is the place from where I began,” she said.
Asked about her other hobbies, she said: “I love sleeping, eating. These are the things I do whenever I get the time. I also love cricket and I am married to a cricketer. It is in my blood, reading and watching Bollywood movies.”
Mirza, married to Pakistan cricket star Shoaib Malik, urged the kids to play sport with passion and not for seeking monetary benefits at a young age.
“You should not play for fame or for money. If you are playing tennis, you should enjoy, otherwise do not play. My alternative dreams is to see a lot of tennis players to come out in India. I have a tennis academy,” she said. Mirza will partner Swiss legend Martina Hingis in the doubles at this week’s Qatar Total Open which ends on Saturday.
By Sanaullah Ataullah The Peninsula
