Australian Open: Sania Mirza left teary-eyed during emotional farewell speech
Melbourne: Indian tennis star Sania Mirza turned emotional as she bid farewell to the Australian Open at the Rod Laver Arena on Friday.
Mirza, who recently declared her retirement from professional tennis, and Rohan Bopanna went down in the final of the mixed doubles event of Australian Open on Friday. In the match lasting 1 hour and 27 minutes, the duo lost 6-7(2), 2-6 to the Brazilian pair Luisa Stefani and Rafael Matos, reports News18.
Speaking to the tournament organizers after the match, a teary-eyed Mirza said, “I’m still gonna play a couple more tournaments but the journey of my professional career started in Melbourne. It started in Melbourne in 2005 when I played Serena Williams in the third round here as an 18-year-old.”
Reminiscing her relationship with the Rod Laver stadium, she added, “I’ve had the privilege to come back here again and again and win some tournaments here and play some great final amongst you all, and Rod Laver Arena has really been special in my life. And I couldn’t think of a better arena to finish my career at in a Grand Slam. So thank you so much for making me feel at home here.”
The presence of her son Izhaan along with family and friends apparently made the occasion sweeter for her.
“I never thought I’d be able to play in front of my child in a Grand Slam final, so it’s truly special for me, to have my four-year-old here and my parents here, and Rohan’s wife, my trainers, my family in Australia who made me feel like home away from home,” Mirza said.
She had earlier announced that the Dubai WTA event in February would be her swansong.
Mirza, who has six Grand Slam titles to her name – three in women’s doubles and three in mixed doubles – in her career, won her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in 2009, with Mahesh Bhupathi. She also won the 2012 French Open mixed doubles title with Bhupathi and 2014 US Open mixed doubles with Brazilian player Bruno Soares.
All her three women’s doubles titles were with Swiss tennis ace Martina Hingis – Wimbledon 2015, US Open 2015 and Australian Open 2016.
“My professional career started in Melbourne… I couldn’t think of a better arena to finish my [Grand Slam] career at.”
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 27, 2023
We love you, Sania ❤️@MirzaSania • #AusOpen • #AO2023 pic.twitter.com/E0dNogh1d0
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Three teenage pregnancies reported in Karnataka within six months
Bengaluru: Karnataka has reported three cases of teenage pregnancies within the past six months, with the latest incident coming to light at a private school in Channarayapatna town of Hassan district, reported by The New Indian Express on Saturday.
Experts and child rights officials have expressed serious concern over the recurring cases, pointing to gaps in child protection mechanisms within educational institutions. They have cited the absence of child protection committees in schools, lack of awareness about the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, inadequate sex education, and parental ignorance as key factors contributing to such incidents.
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The commission’s chairman, Shashidhar Kosambe reportedly said, the main reason is not implementing the Karnataka State Child Protection Policy, 2016, in schools, especially at residential schools like those in Yadgir and Koppal where such incidents have taken place.
According to the policy, the commission must have two teachers or school officials and two outsiders who work in the interest of child rights, so that there is no prejudice whenever complaints are filed.
“It is the responsibility of the commission to monitor children and school staff. Awareness programmes on child protection policies, the POCSO Act, and sexual abuse must be conducted regularly for students and staff. Police must be informed immediately when a violation is detected. The policy and the commission must become part of the ecosystem and shouldn’t be treated as extra work,” TNIE quoted Kosambe as saying.
Psychiatry professor at ESI hospital, Rajajinagar, Dr Chandrashekar said, many adolescent girls become pregnant when they are sexually abused by their male friends. The victims undergo a lot of physical changes and mental trauma because of the way others respond. Therefore, whenever we come across a pregnant teenager, especially the victims of sexual abuse, we provide counselling to the victim as her family members.
