When India tennis ace Sania Mirza flew to London for the ICC Champions Trophy final between India and Pakistan on Sunday, she would’ve wished that people wouldn’t read too much into the sporting rivalry between the two countries. Mirza’s husband Shoaib Malik was part of the Champions Trophy-winning Pakistan side and the Hyderabadi was trolled immensely on social media after the match.
“I support my husband, of course, but I support India too. It’s not as dramatic as people want to make it sound. They think we are at each other with knives every time India plays Pakistan. It’s not like that,” Mirza told reporters. “We have to remember, it’s just a sport. That’s the message every athlete wants to put across. It doesn’t matter. When India lost to Pakistan, they lost a game of cricket, that’s the bottom line. It’s not war or a matter of life and death,” she added.
Mirza also added that despite having a Pakistani husband, she has few critics. “There are probably 20 per cent haters, but it’s still a large number of people. I feel sad for them that they have so much hate for a person they don’t even know,” she said.