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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Malaysian Indian sentenced to jail and caning for raping Indonesian woman in Singapore
Singapore (PTI): An Indian-origin Malaysian man was sentenced in Singapore to 12 years' jail and 12 strokes of the cane for raping a domestic worker outside a train station after tricking her into thinking that he was a police officer.
Sharveen Chetty, 48, pleaded guilty on February 4 to one charge of raping the 35-year-old Indonesian woman in the bushes outside Exit F of a subway, Little India Mass Rapid Transit station, at about 8pm on July 11, 2022.
The victim was with her friends at the time, but Chetty lured her away before he sexually assaulted her, according to a report by The Straits Times on Thursday.
Two other charges – a second rape charge and a charge of impersonating a police officer – were taken into consideration during sentencing on Wednesday.
The witnesses who testified on the first day of the trial included a doctor from Women’s and Children’s Hospital who examined the victim a day after the rapes, and forensic scientists from the Health Sciences Authority.
Chetty had initially contested the charges in a High Court trial that began on February 3. But he changed his mind and pleaded guilty on what would have been the second day of the trial, according to the daily report.
In sentencing, Justice Dedar Singh Gill considered it aggravating that Chetty had targeted the victim because she was a foreigner who might be unfamiliar with the local authorities.
The judge rejected the defence's arguments that the rape was not premeditated.
The judge, however, noted that Chetty had pleaded guilty before the victim and key prosecution witnesses testified, thus sparing her and her friends from going through cross-examination.
The prosecution had sought a sentence of between 11 and 13 years’ jail and 12 strokes of the cane, noting Chetty’s extensive efforts to disguise himself, and his predatory act of leading the victim away from the rest of the group.
Chetty admitted that he became sexually attracted to the victim.
