Fresh from her victory at the WTA Finals in Singapore, tennis ace Sania Mirza on Tuesday said the love and support she receives from the country is what inspires her to do more.
Sania, who along with her Zimbabwean partner Cara Black defeated Hsieh Su-wei of Chinese Taipei and Peng Shuai of China 6-1, 6-0 to win the WTA Finals title on Sunday, also said that 2014 had been an incredible year for her.
"I am very happy obviously because it was probably the biggest championship that you can win. It is as big as a grand slam so for me to win both of those in this year, it has been an incredible year for me. The love and support I get from the country every time I come back is truly amazing and it inspires us as athletes to do more," Sania told ANI here.
Sania Mirza and Saketh Myneni's had also clinched the Gold medal at the 2014 Asian Games earlier this year in Incheon.
The Telangana brand ambassador also responded to the brouhaha that surrounded her this year by saying that as a public figure, one gets used to such things.
"When you are a public figure you should get used to all these things, especially when we come from such an emotional country like India is about their stars. You have to accept the pros and the cons, the good and the bad. Fortunately, there is a lot more good then there is bad," she pointed out.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Pranab Mukherjee had also extended their greetings to Sania after she won the WTA Finals, thereby making history by becoming the first Indian athlete after Vijay Amritraj to win a finale after almost 40 years.