Women of steel set to leave golden legacy

Sports and style!!! That's an apt way to describe their talent and flamboyance on the field and mature sense and cocky attitude off it. Three jewels from the pearl city of Hyderabad have not only underlined their presence on the games arena, but have emphasised their worth as brand ambassadors of their respective sports. Their fashion statements, too, in recent times have proved their tastes for quality and elegance with their different vogue proclamations. These Prima Donnas are indeed perfect role models for the next line of sportswomen.

Sania Mirza, Saina Nehwal and Mithali Raj are basking in the limelight of their recent successes and achievements and they have every reason to celebrate. When they started out in their careers two decades ago, they had just one dream – to reach the summit. Nothing less. If Mithali Raj was initially reluctant to don her pads and gloves, Saina, who accompanied her parents to the badminton court, picked up the racquet at an early age and fell in love with the sport, and the romance continues. For Sania Mirza, it was her parents, Imran Mirza and Naeema, who stoked the fires of interest at an early age and have kept it alive. They burnt a lot of midnight oil in their endeavour to find sponsors, work out training, tournament and hectic travel schedules. Though she was groomed by many international coaches, she always valued her father's inputs about her game. Imran studied opponents’ weaknesses and provided Sania the strategy to execute her plans. Dorairaj started the first coaching camp exclusively for women cricketers and helped Mithali hone her skills.

In fact, the parents of these three first ladies of Hyderabad sports should take the bulk of credit for shaping the destinies of their prodigies. If Imran and Naseema provided the perfect platform for Sania to perform, then Harveer and Usha laid a strong foundation for their daughter to fulfill their desires and dreams. Mithali too was very fortunate to have sports loving parents, Dorairaj and Leela. They made huge sacrifices for their respective daughters' careers.

All these girls are fully focussed, live in the present and are very down to earth. Other denominators common in their careers are that they have worked to the top the hard way; possess tremendous self belief; exude confidence and are very persistent in their approach.

Saina Nehwal became the first Indian woman to be ranked number one in the world for successive weeks. Apart from top national sports awards and civilian titles, she has a number of super series titles in her kitty. Sania Mirza, realising her limitations as a singles player made a clever move by shifting to doubles and has settled into a formidable combination with Martina Hingis. Her showcase of trophies and awards is also brimming. The Telangana State ambassador was recently crowned Number One in world doubles.

Mithali, Saina and Sania are all level-headed, not allowing fame and success to go their heads. Another important characteristic that define the awesome threesome is they are never overawed by the reputation of their highly ranked adversaries. They challenge them on even terms and that's the reason for their repeated triumphs over fancied opponents. Even in the glare and glitz of a foreign atmosphere, they have stayed firmly rooted and have given their best. There were moments of tribulation, struggle, disappointment and some controversy in their roller coaster journey but these women of steel have always risen to the occasion and are set to leave a golden legacy.

The Gen Next of sportswomen have indeed iconic footsteps to follow!!!