Sania Mirza and Shoaib Malik welcome the newest member into their family
What's the story?
The moment India's tennis sensation had tied the knot with star Pakistan cricket player Shoaib Malik on April 10, 2010, the two nations had gone into a tizzy! With scours of fans looking up to the star couple, there have been several speculations about when the duo will be ready to take up parenting duties.
After a long wait of eight years, the adorable couple who announced Sania's pregnancy in April has finally welcomed a tiny, new member into the Mirza-Malik family on October 30 and it's heyday for both India and Pakistan!
In case you didn't know...
Sania Mirza is one player who deserves heap-loads of credit to her name for almost single-handedly promoting women's tennis as a sport in India by fetching glory for the nation by conquering titles and winning Slams far and wide.
The former World No. 1 Doubles player has won 6 Grand Slam titles in her career and brought innumerable laurels home.
Although her frequency at the court has reduced since her marriage, Sania is relentless and keeps coming back strong whenever she plays! Her husband, Shoaib Malik who has served as the Captain for the cricket team of Pakistan from 2007-09, is also a powerhouse of talent to reckon with.
The heart of the matter
Tuesday morning dawned brightly for the couple as the overjoyed duo welcomed a baby boy into the family and named him #BabyMirzaMalik!
On several occasions previously, many tricky questions had been popped to the pair regarding what surname the child will bear and if he is a player, which country will he represent- India or Pakistan?
Throughout such controversial and edgy questions, both Sania and Shoaib had fielded them very well and proven time and again that the baby will bear the surname of both the parents!
As soon as Shoaib Malik took to Twitter to announce the joyful message, fans erupted across the world and poured in their love, blessings and hearty congratulations!
What's next?
Tennis has been all-welcoming to mothers of late. Ever since Kim Clijsters scripted a stellar comeback with a US Open win in 2009 with a toddler daughter, Jada by her side, several women players have made it a point to not stay suppressed by pregnancy.
Even more recently, Serena Williams won the Australian Open 2017 while being pregnant for a few weeks. She made a powerful comeback in 2018 and went on to play the finals of Wimbledon and US Open this year.
Taking inspiration from these greats, the 31-year-old Sania Mirza, before taking it slow since 2017, is reportedly eyeing a comeback in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and show it to the world that the toll of pregnancy, motherhood and parenting cannot be deterrents in the path of your dream.
We wish the new mother and her child a very happy and healthy life as we wait impatiently for her comeback soon!