Shah Rukh hails rani of racquet

​Hyderabad: Any one, particularly a woman, who sees substance in arguments and dares to take on the challenges, should not hesitate to raise their opposition.

A gutsy woman like Sania Mirza has been an exemplary example with the way she took on those who dubbed her as being ‘arrogant’ and ‘too individualistic’ even as she was fighting for a cause.

Those were the words of praise showered by Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan while formally launching the world number one woman tennis player’s autobiography ‘Ace Against Odds’ (published byHarper Collins) here on Wednesday.

Saluting the grit and determination with which Sania had fought her opponents both on and off the courts, the actor said his mother was the first woman to teach him to respect and protect woman’s rights.

"Believe me, we will have many more woman achievers like Sania," he said while calling her as the ‘Rani of racquet’.

"Given their exploits on the international arena, Sania and others like P T Usha and Mary Kom are the perfect role-models for future generations of girls to take to sports as a career option.

I hope to see many more laurels coming to India from Saina,’ he said. In her thanksgiving, Sania said that the book traces her life from the time when she was five years and brings forth the struggles she and her family had to undergo; the agonies and ecstasies; realisation of childhood dreams and the traumas she had to overcome.

She did not rule out a sequel provided ‘my future will be as colourful and exciting as they were till now. I wish to stay the numero uno for as long as I play and aspire to quit as the number one and not when there is a downslide,’ said Sania.