"Shoania" mania fizzles…
There was a time when the marriage of Shoaib Malik and Sania Mirza had rocked the world of sports. Shoaib Malik is the former Captain of Pakistan cricket team and a handy all-rounder while Sania Mirza is an international tennis sensation from India. The couple was popularly known as “Shoania”, once they had announced the news of their engagement.
Extreme hype was created by both the Indian and the Pakistani media. Their love affair was a true mystery as not even the media had the slightest of hint that they have been together. The media failed to expose even a single picture of the pair. A lot of credit should be given to the couple for keeping it hidden with such success. However, once the news was out, there were many twists and turns in the Shoania affair as Aisha Siddiqi claimed to have been married with Shoaib Malik. Initially, Shoaib openly refuted her claims but later he agreed to divorce her in order to marry his real love, Sania.
Excess coverage was given by the media, from the time of Shoania’s engagement till the time of their wedding. To the point where their news was seen on internationally renowned channels like BBC, CNN and publications like the Times, Guardian and Newsweek.
However, once the couple got hitched, there was no news about them on any form of the media, in any part of the world. The last heard about them was that they are planning to settle in Dubai after their marriage, keeping a ‘neutral’ venue to avoid controversies. Sania was also reported to have said that despite being an Indian, she will support the Pakistan cricket team as her husband is a part of it. Shoaib also echoed her stance by saying that he would support Sania in her tennis matches.
After the wedding, a few pictures of them were released, in which they were seen exercising together in their sports attire. But since then they have been out of the news, and as they say, out of sight, out of mind. No one seems to be talking about them either.
Is this because the couple wanted some respite from the media frenzy? That is hard to believe as the couple seemed to enjoy the media attention they got during the post-engagement and pre-marriage stages. Also, Shoania don’t seem to be that sort of a couple which would enjoy a modest way of living, after all they have led a very glamorous and media friendly life.
For instance, Sania doesn’t shy away from the media with the proof being some of her daring and controversial photo shoots and several ads that she has appeared in. She is also said to be the second most expensive commercial ad figure in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 after Sachin Tendulkar. Similarly, Shoaib is no less either, as he appears in several ads in Pakistan; some include a shampoo ad (“Clear” for men) while he is also the new face of Gillette shaving cream.
If it’s not the modest living factor that has kept the couple out of the news, then what is it? The only explicable reason left perhaps is the fact that both of them have been out of form in their respective games. Shoaib Malik is hardly making it to the Pakistan cricket squad this year, he is usually in the reserves or is taken in as the 12th man. This has been a result of his poor performance with the bat and ball in 2010. He was banned for one-year and fined with six other players for indiscipline and misconduct on their tour to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 side, he was nothing but a disappointment as his performance was inconsistent and uninspiring, which made the PCB decide to not give him a central contract.
On the other hand, Sania Mirza has been at par with her husband as she has also been struggling with her form. This year in the US open, she managed to reach just the 2nd round but that also she lost by 2-6, 4-6 to the Russian teenager, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. She also suffered a wrist injury earlier in the year that prevented her from playing any of the matches in the early months of 2010.
The lack-luster performance and rusty form of both the players could be a reason why Shoania has fizzled within months of the marriage although it had created shock waves the world over.
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