Sania Mirza Can Now Apply For Calcutta South Club Membership

Tennis male bastion falls - 48-year-old rulebook rewritten to allow women members

Sania Mirza can now apply for Calcutta South Club membership. Had the tennis star from Hyderabad applied earlier, the Woodburn Park club could have thrown its 48-year-old rulebook at her, debarring women from membership.

At an extraordinary general meeting on Thursday evening, the club, once called the Wimbledon of the East, served an ace — unanimously voting to let in women members.

For this, Clause 4 of the Articles of Association, which states that “women shall not be eligible for membership of the club”, will be amended as soon as the resolution is cleared by the registrar of companies. “Over the past few years, the thinking inside the club has changed,” says club honorary secretary I.N. Chaturvedi.

The likes of Yagnaseni Das Biswas, who plays tennis regularly with her physician husband at South Club, are all for change in the “chauvinistic attitude that discourages single and qualified women from approaching clubs for membership”.

Was this a knee-jerk reaction to Calcutta Club’s decision to allow women members in its centenary year? No way, protests South Club. “Talks have been on since September. While Calcutta Club was only following a tradition, we had a disabling clause for women in the Articles of Association that took time to amend,” explained club president Rajat Majumdar.

Veterans like Akhtar Ali have termed the move “a historic one” for the club. “This has basically been a men’s club because, even till about five years ago, women’s tennis was not big in India,” said the director of the club’s junior coaching programme.

That, of course, has been changed by the forehand and the fame of a girl called Sania Mirza, who had last stepped on to the South Club greens four years ago as a ‘junior’.

Sania Mirza back to training

Sania Mirza, accompanied by father Imran, enters the courts at the SAAP Tennis Complex in Hyderabad, where she resumed training on Tuesday after an injury lay-off.

The Indian tennis sensation was out of action for seven weeks because of a knee injury.

"The knee is 90 per cent okay; there is little pain and she looks rusty after the long break," Imran Mirza said.

"After two weeks' training on her favourite surface -- hard court -- she will decide on the comeback date," he added.

Sania sustained the knee injury during her first round match at the Qatar Open in February. A medical test in Hyderabad revealed a Anterior Cruciate Ligament injury but surgery was not necessary.

The 20-year-old is now following a schedule given by her trainer, Heath Matthews, who will join her next week.

Injury time over, Sania Mirza returns

Sania Mirza is back where she loves to be, after a frustrating seven-week limbo due to a serious knee injury. Sania Mirza wants to get a clear idea on how long it will take for her to be back in business.

At the Centre Court of the SAAP Tennis Complex Sania dabbled with the racket for about half-an-hour on Monday. "It is okay and let's see how things shape up," was her crisp remark to the waiting family members.

South African trainer Heath Mathew, who left for a break only last week to be back next week, has given Sania Mirza a comprehensive schedule of training.

Sania Mirza is trying her best to be in her elements. Obviously it is frustrating for any champion to be away from the playfield and Sania is no different.What exactly did she do today? Sania served a little bit and looked confident despite the obvious limitations on her first venture on to the tennis court after a long gap.

Sania Mirza is planning to play in the German Open from May 7 if everything goes well or might delay the return till the Morocco Open on May 14. Sania Mirza did not make any serious effect to stretch fully in the warm-up session, which was closely monitored by father Imran Mirza. "We will see how things develop over the next four to five days.

There is a little pain and she looks rusty after the long break," Imran said. he knee is 90 per cent okay. After two weeks of training on her favourite surface -- hard court -- She will decide on the comeback date.

The beaming faces of the Mirzas is a clear hint that Sania Mirza seems to be truly back on the road to regaining peak physical fitness. That is good news for her fans not necessarily for her opponents in the circuit!

Indian squad minus Sania leaves for Fed Cup

The Indian Fed Cup tennis team was scheduled to leave for New Zealand on Thursday to participate in the Asia Oceania Group I & II qualifying round from April 16-18 in Christchurch. But Sania Mirza won’t be on the flight. India’s best player is recovering from a knee surgery.

Nonetheless, captain and coach Enrico Piperno is hoping that the team members - Sunitha Rao, Ankita Bhambri, Shikha Uberoi and Tara Iyer – deliver the goods. India will play a minimum three rounds in the three-day competition. They will play among the following teams - Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, China, Kazakhstan, Korea, Thailand and Uzbekistan.

India missed out on a spot in the World Group II Play-offs when they lost to Australia in the final of Asia/Oceania Zone Group I last year in Seoul. Sania was at her best, winning two singles matches and partnering Shikha Uberoi in doubles. Riding on Sania’s performance, India had defeated Chinese Taipei and New Zealand before facing Australia in the final.

The other time India had come close to a World Group berth was in 2005, when India played without Sania in New Delhi in 2005. India had then defeated Kazakhstan and Singapore en route to the final, where they lost to Korea.

“We will miss Sania,” said Piperno. “She was at her best in the last edition in Korea. Now she is improved much more. However, we have to play without her. But I have hopes from other players, especially Shikha Uberoi and Sunitha Rao. This is a good opportunity for them to prove themselves.”

Sunitha, an American citizen, had applied to the ITF (International Tennis Federation) to represent India. They’ve given her clearance.
The other interesting fact is that Shikha has a very good record in the Fed Cup. She has won six matches and lost only one in singles, while in doubles her win-loss record stands at 3-1.

“Shikha is our hope now,” Piperno said. “She has always played her best in the Fed Cup and this time we are banking on her as well as Sunitha.

“We have four days to practice and any one of Ankita, Sunitha and Shikha could feature in singles, depending on their form. In doubles, probably Shikha will team up with Sunitha. However, it is too early to announce the team composition.”

On newcomer Tara Iyer, he said, “I don’t know much about her. I will see her play and then decide.”

Piperno emphasised that weather could play an important role. “It will be cold there,” he said.

Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/storypage/storypage.aspx?id=02faa287-bbb3-4630-a6b6-813a233bc28a&