Indian tennis icon Sania Mirza and Pakistan’s former cricket captain Shoaib Malik surprised the world on Tuesday by announcing their engagement. We take a closer look at the lives and loves of the sporting world’s hottest new couple, who will marry in April.
|Gulf News Web Report | Published: 11:56 March 30, 2010 |
Shoaib Malek ended speculation on Tuesday by confirming to fans on Twitter that he will marry Sania Mirza in April. Malek is currently in the UAE, turning out for Dhaka's Mohammadan Sporting Club in the ongoing PCL T20 Bashundhara Cup at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. The two sporting superstars got engaged following a six-month long relationship.
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- Sania was pictured resting her feet and showing her bare soles during a press conference at the 2008 Hopman Cup, with an Indian flag in front. She strongly proclaimed her love for her country after facing possible prosecution under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act.
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- Sohrab and Sania were friends since childhood, but the news of their engagement and the subsequent cancellation came after rumours that Sania was dating Bollywood star Shahid Kapoor.
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- Sania got engaged to Hyderabad-based teenage friend Sohrab Mirza in July 2009. In January 2010, she called off the engagement citing incompatibility with Sohrab. Adil Mirza, father of Sohrab, wished Sania good luck on Tuesday following her engagement to Malek, and said Sania’s new engagement will not affect the ties between the two Mirza families.
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- hoaib has also had his fair share of controversy when the father of Ayesha Siddiqui, who’s also from the south Indian city of Hyderabad, claimed that her daughter had got married to the Pakistani cricketer. According to Mohammad Ali Siddiqui, Ayesha and Shoaib’s nikah (marriage) took place on June 3, 2002. Media reported that the marriage was actually a telephone nikah. Siddiqui later claimed that their marriage plans ended because both families could not get an understanding on the issue. Shoaib admits having a relationship with Ayehsa but denies that they had ever got married.
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- Sania Mirza has been criticised by Muslim religious groups for wearing short tennis outfits on court, and the issue has often created controversies. Some groups have defended a Muslim woman tennis player’s right to wear tennis attire, but have found her dress objectionable. Mirza is a practicing Muslim who prays five times a day and fasts during Ramadan. Citing the series of controversies, Sania announced in 2008 that she would stop appearing in tennis tournaments held in India.
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- Shoaib Malek has been romantically tied to Bollywood actress and former Miss India Sayali Bhagat in recent times. The news of his engagement with Sania has reportedly upset Sayali a great deal. Sayali and Shoaib had apparently been dating since 2008.
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- In November 2005, Sania courted fresh controversy when she advocated safe sex at a conference. Some groups branded her “a corrupting influence on the youth,” to which Sania clarified that she was opposed to pre-marital sex.
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- Shoaib Malek ended speculation on Tuesday by confirming to fans on Twitter that he will marry Sania Mirza in April. Malek is currently in the UAE, turning out for Dhaka’s Mohammadan Sporting Club in the ongoing PCL T20 Bashundhara Cup at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. The two sporting superstars got engaged following a six-month long relationship.
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