Sania Mirza gets engaged to childhood friend

Hyderabad, July 10 : Tennis star Sania Mirza found her match in childhood friend Sohrab Mirza as the two exchanged rings at an engagement ceremony here Friday night that was attended by industrialists, sportspersons and politicians.

The 22-year-old tennis ace exchanged rings with Sohrab, 23, an MBA student and son of a city-based businessman. The ceremony was held at a star hotel amid tight security and was attended by relatives and close friends of the two families.

The engagement ceremony was held at Taj Krishna, owned by GVK Group of Industries, which had been sponsoring Sania ever since she started playing at the age of six.

About 300 guests, including 200 from Sania's side, attended the ceremony. They included badminton player P. Gopichand, Minister of State for Human Resource D. Purandareswari, her husband and legislator D. Venkateshawara Rao, Telugu film actor Vishnu and industrialist G.V.K. Reddy of the GVK Group.

Family sources said Sania's parents brought a variety of fruits and sweets for the occasion. The two sides gifted each other clothes and Sohrab's family presented jewellery to Sania.

The guests were treated to several mouth-watering dishes, including different types of Hyderabadi 'biryani' and 'qubani ka meetha' (a type of sweet).

Sania's family said the marriage would take place in a couple of years. Her father Imran Mirza had earlier said that she would focus on her tennis career for now. Sania, who ranks 85 in the world, will immediately leave for the US Open.

Elaborate security arrangements were made for the function in the backdrop of the arrest of two youths, who created a nuisance at Sania's house during the last two days claiming that they were in love with her and demanding that her family cancel the engagement.

About 50 policemen were posted around the hotel and journalists were not allowed into the hotel. Dozens of photographers and camerapersons of various regional and national television channels stood at the gate, hoping to get a glimpse of the tennis star.

Accompanied by her parents Imran Mirza and Naseema Mirza and younger sister Anam, the tennis sensation reached the hotel at around 6 p.m.

Earlier, Imran told the media at his residence to respect their privacy. "Kindly cooperate with us. This is a simple and private ceremony," he said.