Dubai : India tennis player Sania Mirza has been officially granted the Dubai Golden Visa. This will allow Sania and her husband Shoaib Malik, former Pakistan cricket captain, 10-year residency in the UAE.
After Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan and Sanjay Dutt, Sania is the third Indian personality to receive this coveted honour. Commenting on this Sania said: "First of all I would like to thank Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid, Federal Authority For Identity And Citizenship & General authority of sports Dubai for giving us the Dubai Golden Visa. Dubai is extremely close to me and my family."
"This is my second home and we are looking forward to spending more time here. Being one of the few selected citizen from India, this brings an absolute honour to us. This will also give us an opportunity to work on our tennis and cricket sports academy which we are aiming to open in the next couple of months," she added.
Sania and Shoaib are also working towards bringing their sports academy offering tennis and cricket coaching to Dubai soon.
The Indian tennis star will next be seen in action in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, beginning July 23. She will partner with Ankita Raina in women's doubles event.