Earlier this month, at the Hopman Cup in Perth, Sania Mirza has landed herself in hot water after a photographer captured her in a simple act of resting her bare feet near a small Indian flag.Mirza, a tennis star from India, could be put behind bars for allegedly disrespecting her national flag. A complaint has already been filed against her under India's Prevention of Insult o the National Honour Act.
However, this allegation does not deter her from advances to the second round at the Australian Open after defeated Iroda Tulyaganova, of Uzbekistan, 6-4 6-2 yesterday.
"It's not easy to deal with things like that off the court. There are some misunderstandings happening," Mirza said.
"At a (grand) slam, the most important thing now is playing tennis. Under the circumstances, I'm just happy I came through the first round.
"It's in court right now. I just know I wouldn't do anything to disrespect my country. I love my country. I wouldn't be playing Hopman Cup otherwise. I'm not allowed to comment right now. It's in court."
This is not the first time Mirza has landed herself in controversies. Mirza, a Muslim, has been the target of a fatwa for wearing short skirts and singlet tops. Then she was incorrectly accused of supporting pre-marital sex.
According to tournament officials at the Hopman Cup, who defended Mirza, explained that the reason why Mirza kept her feet raised was to stop a build up of lactic acid.
I'm sure many would have agree that, Mirza is a talented player, but all these continuous controversies and judgment against her are definitely going to destroy her future career in tennis.
