Tennis legend Sania Mirza and world boxing champion Nikhat Zareen came together on stage in the penultimate session of Trailblazers 2.0, India’s biggest sports conclave hosted by Revsportz, to reflect on their journeys as athletes who are social changemakers.
Talking in a session titled Women Power, Sania Mirza and Nikhat Zareen told Boria Majumdar, Founder and Editor of RevSportz about the intensity and passion with which they played sport, unmindful of the challenges coming their way. They spoke of coping with failure, dealing with pressure and how they dealt with social media.
“Nothing teaches you to live life like sport does,” Sania Mirza said. “It was a journey that we were on as a family with odds against us. We took pride in the small achievements along the way. And I hope my comeback after motherhood to play a Grand Slam final can inspire young mothers to do what they like to do for themselves.”
Nikhat Zareen said it was good of people who expected a gold from her each time. “None wants to lose. All of us go with a winning mindset. In the Asian Games, I wanted to qualify for Paris 2024 Olympic Games,” she said.
“I will change the colour of the medal and bring back gold for my country. My dream is winning an Olympic medal for my country. I will take the pressure in a positive way and give my 100 per cent,” she said. “I love to post photos. I don’t care about what others say. I will log off from all social media accounts until the Olympic Games.”
Sania Mirza nodded in approval. “I used to do the same. For me it is a small part of my life. I don’t take it very seriously. In fact, you have to take it with a pinch of salt. But social media does ask questions every day and we lived an anonymous and peaceful life. Social media should not make or break anyone,” she said.