The Sania Mania – Is there a need for the media hype?

Sania Mirza, the tennis player who has put India on the World Women’s tennis map is back in the news. And thankfully this time is about her marriage to Pakistani cricket player Shoaib Malik and not of losing another championship’s first round match.

I would not like to belittle her achievements but if we compare her achievements to all the other Williams or *Ova’s of the world then she has a long way to go. Saina Nehwal instead has achieved much more in badminton for the nation but does not share the same kind of limelight.

The media has gone on a tizzy. Juicy details about Shoaib’s alleged first marriage to another lady is already making the rounds with various degrees of accuracy.

It is hilarious to note that discussions have catapulted to the intricacies of Indo-Pak border relations etc. affecting this relationship and vice-versa. Of course it is also reported that they will settle in a neutral territory – Dubai.
Rediff reports that the Pakistani Tennis Federation has started trumping the issue that Sania should play for Pakistan post marriage.
Is it really worth reporting such juvenile statements?

This whole media hype and exposure is absolutely unnecessary. It is inconsequential whether Sania continues to play tennis or represents Pakistan instead of India. And let us not forget that Sania plays professional tennis where she represents herself first; the fact that she belongs to India or Uganda is trivial.

I would like to stress that it is a marriage for God’s sake between two people irrespective of whichever country they might belong to. Is it just because one is Indian and other is Pakistani? Would it have made so much news if she was marrying someone from Kazakhstan or Turkmenistan?

The media should harness its resource strength and analytical ability to impartially focus on issues of greater importance like the inflation, economic slowdown, nation’s preparedness for the Common Wealth Games, causes of water crisis and electricity shortage, the state of our education and healthcare system or even the honor killings perpetrated across the nation.