Video: Sania Mirza turns coach for Mamata Banerjee
In what was surely a rare sight for both sports and politics aficionados, Indian tennis superstar Sania Mirza was spotted teaching West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee a few shots of the game in Kolkata on Wednesday. The Indian ace, who had a remarkable 2015 season in women’s doubles along with Martina Hingis, was seen assisting CM Mamata on the latter's forehand.
Sporting her trademark white saree, the CM was assisted by Sania on court, and the latter helped the former play a few tough shots. The CM did well to time her shots, much to the delight of the crowd who had turned up in big numbers.
The crowd witnessed four tennis legends in action on Wednesday – city boy Leander Paes teamed up with former Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova while the world's No. 1 doubles player Sania paired up with Mahesh Bhupathi on the other side of the net. Sania and Bhupathi won the match 7-5, 7-5, but not before Paes and Navratilova displayed some of their trademark doubles magic.
The celebrity event was a promotional campaign for Bhupathi's high-profile International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) that features Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal among other tennis greats, and which is scheduled to start on December 2nd.
Sania was the part of the Indian Aces team that won the inaugural edition of the IPTL and will play for the same team this year as well.