The Hindu : National : Sania walks out of press meet

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Nov 21, 2005

National

National

Sania walks out of press meet

Special Correspondent

Sania Mirza

Kochi: Tennis star Sania Mirza on Sunday abruptly ended a press conference declining to answer persistent queries on `moral policing' in the wake of the controversy over the remarks made by Tamil film star Kushboo.

Ms. Sania, who was here in connection with the promotion of a Kozhikode-based jewellery group (she is its brand ambassador, along with Malayalam superstar Mohanlal), was irked when a reporter sought her comments on the Kushboo issue.

She said she had come in connection with the jewellery group's promotion campaign and would only answer questions pertaining to the company.

The first question from a Mumbai-based national newspaper's representative was about Sania's future in tennis. "I really do not know about my future" was her response.

When the scribe drew a comparison with Martina Navratilova's career graph, she said she would not entertain questions on tennis. When another question on "moral policing" was put to her, the tennis star got upset.

Another scribe pointed out that the press conference was supposed to be addressed by her and the media were under the impression that she would take questions relating to tennis. "That is not my fault" was her short reply. There was an embarrassing lull and when again a question on the "Kushboo" affair was put, she walked out.

Mr. Mohanlal, who was present, explained that she had told him she did not want to answer any questions on the Kushboo issue as the media had distorted her earlier comments.

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