Mary Kom shares her childhood story with Kapil; Saina Nehwal says, ‘badminton chose me’

The Indian women athletes -- Mary Kom, Saina Nehwal and Sania Mirza have opened up about their inspiration, and revealed inspiring tales about their sports journey in the new episode of the comedy chat show ‘The Great Indian Kapil Show’.

The 11th episode witnessed the ‘Pride of India’ -- Mary, Saina, Sift Kaur Samra and Sania.

When asked by show host Kapil Sharma who was Sania Mirza’s idol, she replied, “I always wanted to be a Tennis player. Back then Steffi Graf was my favourite and I aspired to play and be like her.”

During the candid conversation, the Indian Olympic boxer Mary Kom talked about her childhood days, sharing, “I was always enthusiastic about sports. Just like Sania, looking at Steffi Graf, even I liked lawn Tennis a lot as a kid. I wanted to play it once.”

“However, I come from a poor family and couldn’t afford anything. I really wanted to play lawn tennis in my childhood but I did not have anyone to guide me. But, still, I played sports at my school and in my village with mostly boys. I used to play football and marbles and used to challenge the boys,” added Mary.

Continuing the conversation, when Kapil asked how Saina chose Badminton, she said: “Well, I didn’t choose badminton. Badminton chose me. Had I not moved to Hyderabad, I wouldn’t have got the opportunity. Hyderabad made me into a badminton player and I am happy that I became one. And today, everyone wants to become a badminton or tennis player, and that’s because of us.”

‘The Great Indian Kapil Show’ streams on Netflix.