36-year-old Indian tennis star Sania Mirza, who is also the wife of former Pakistan cricket team skipper Shoaib Malik, has been conferred the Inspirational Icon award.
While receiving the award, Sania delivered a short speech in which she thanked everyone for the achievement.
“Thank you so much for having me here and honoring me with this award. It’s quite emotional for me for a couple of months as you can imagine many decisions were made and many things were happening at the same time,” said Sania.
“In 20 years long journey for me and like all good things come to an end this also ended so I am very grateful for this achievement and full of gratitude for everything I did.”
“Growing up we all read Sports Star Magazine so being on the cover page and insider it’s an honor for me. It was always my dream to be the part of a sports family,” she said.
“I played for India, for myself, for my family and for you all with all the wins and losses,” she added.
Concluding the speech, she said: ‘No better way to start this new phase than this award.”
Sania took to her Instagram handle and shared the five gallery post contains pictures of herself with the award and a video.
Sharing the glimpses of the event she captioned, “What a day, could barely keep my eyes open by the end of it but so grateful. Thank you @the_hindu and @sportstarweb for this honor, truly humbled, Allhamdulillah.”
Mirza opt to wear Maroon cord suit for the award ceremony.
Previously, this year Mirza had announced retirement from her almost two decades sports journey. She said Goodbye to her beloved tennis and also got emotional during an interview.
When and where will Sania paly her last match?
The right-handed Mirza wanted to end her fantastic journey on a special note. Three days ago she taking to Instagram announced her last match in Hyderabad on 5th March and requested the fans to buy the tickets.
In a video message Mirza said, "I have some really exciting news. I am all set to play my last ever tennis match exactly where it all started for me 18-20 years ago in the L.B. Stadium on March 5."
She said that all her closest friends, peers, and partners will be coming. "I can’t wait to play this match in front of all of you for one last time stepping on the tennis court competitively."
Concluding the video she added, "I hope to end this journey on a beautiful note in front of my friends and family but most of all in front of my most loyal fans and followers who have been through everything with me in this journey.”