'You are India's pride': PM Narendra Modi applauds Sania Mirza in heartfelt letter

The Indian tennis legend called time on her career last month.

Prime Minister Narender Modi penned down a heartfelt letter to Indian tennis legend Sania Mirza, who announced her retirement from tennis in February 2023. “When you announced a Life Update on 13th January, you wonderfully expressed your journey from a six-year-old who had to literally fight her way out to courts to a world-class tennis player in the subsequent years," PM Modi said in his letter.

He further added, “ In your excellence, the world saw a glimpse of India’s sporting prowess. When you began playing, India’s tennis landscape was very different. What you did was to illustrate that more women can pursue tennis and excel in it. But, beyond that, your success also gave strength to several other women who wanted to pursue a career in sports but for some reason or the other were hesitant to do so.”

Sania Mirza reacts to PM Modi's letter

The Prime Minister further iterated, “You gave the people of India much to cheer about. Your early success in Wimbledon as a junior player showed that you were going to be a force to reckon with. Likewise, your triumphs in the subsequent Grand Slam tournaments, be it the women's Doubles or the Mixed Doubles demonstrated your skill and passion for the game.

"Due to twists of fate, you had to cope with injuries, but these setbacks only helped strengthened your resolve and you overcame these challenges with flying colours”.

The tennis star was elated by the kind gesture from PM Modi as she shared the letter on Twitter and thanked him. "I would like to thank you Honorable Prime Minister @narendramodi Ji for such kind and inspiring words. I have always taken great pride in representing our country to the best of my ability and will continue to do whatever I can to make India proud. Thank you for your support," tweeted Mirza.