Sania Mirza with her son Izhaan Mirza Malik.

NEW DELHI: The sports ministry has approached the British government, through the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), to grant visa to the two-year-old son of ace tennis player Sania Mirza so that she can take the toddler with her while she participates in a series of competitions in the United Kingdom, ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.
Sania will be participating in the Nottingham Open on June 6, followed by the Birmingham Open on June 14, the Eastbourne Open on June 20 and Wimbledon on June 28. Though Sania has been granted a visa to travel to Nottingham, her son and his caretaker have not received UK visas owing to the travel restrictions on Indian travellers.
Sania, who is a part of the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), approached the ministry requesting for help with the visa of her son and his caretaker. Sania stated that she cannot leave a two-year-old child behind as she travels for a month.
The request was immediately taken up by the ministry and a letter has already been sent to MEA requesting them to take up the matter in the UK through the Indian Embassy in London.
“We received this request for Sania a few days back, and I felt that it is important that as a mother Sania be allowed to take her two-year-old son along so that she can participate with a free mind without worrying for her child back home. I have approved the request and the ministry officials have initiated the process with the MEA. The ministry’s effort has always been to provide every support to our athletes. We are hopeful that the UK Government will see merit in this case and allow the child to travel with Sania,” said sports minister Kiren Rijiju.