Hyderabad/Karachi: Announcing her marriage with Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik on April 15 in Hyderabad, tennis star Sania Mirza on Tuesday said she would retain her Indian passport and play for India in the 2012 Olympics for the country.
Flying back to Hyderabad after a lightning visit to Delhi where she secured visa from Pakistan High Commission for going to Lahore for a reception, she declined to go into "uncomfortable" details about where she met Shoaib but said she knew him for last seven years.
She made it clear that they would settle down in Dubai which she called a "home away from home" and just three hours' flight from Hyderabad.
During the brief interaction with the media in the company of her father at her residence, the 23-year-old Sania said she would be lying if she did not expect the development to be a shock but both of them and their families were happy about the marriage. She said she had received messages of best wishes from several people both in India and Pakistan.
"We are getting married. We are not also making any political statement or anything on (Indo-Pak) relations. It's a simple matter. We are getting married. We are very, very happy and our families are very happy," she said when a reporter asked whether she would like others to emulate her example.
Asked who she would support in case of an India-Pakistan cricket match, she said, "I will obviously support India but I will also support my husband."
To a question, she said she would continue to hold Indian passport and was looking to play for India in the 2012 Olympics.
"I'm not going to answer nor will Shoaib be comfortable answering personal questions," she said when asked when the two started seeing each other.
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