More On the Meaning of 'Sania Mirza'

From The Independent: Mirza and Karthekeyan's rise redefines the boundary of India's cricket obsession

India has had tennis stars before - many years ago, and they were all men - and Karthikeyan's own father was a successful rally driver. But the reason behind the two new stars' huge popularity is partly that they have arrived after this long drought in Indian sporting success, and partly that they have arrived on the scene at a time when Indian society is changing.

With its economy booming, India has a large and growing middle class with the time and money to spend on sports like tennis. And if few can aspire to motor racing, the days are gone when the only car on the Indian roads was the graceful but slow Hindustan Ambassador, modelled on an old Fifties-era Morris. Today there is a burgeoning and competitive new car market which provides plenty of potential sponsors for the likes of Karthikeyan.

Both, inevitably, come from wealthy, middle-class backgrounds. Funding for the poor to make it in sports other than cricket in India is non-existent, depressingly illustrated by India's brightest swimming prospect tragically committing suicide last year because the government would not pay for surgery she needed on an injury that would otherwise end her career.

Karthikeyan and Mirza may never achieve the worldwide acclaim in their their respective fields as Tendulkar, but if their legacy is that the Indian people - and authorities - can see beyond the all-powerful institution of cricket for sporting fulfilment, then India may yet, one day, celebrate Olympic gold.