Tennis takes Sania-Shoaib to Ranchi

Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza is seen practicing at the tennis courts of the newly built academy in Ranchi.

Sania Mirza chats with Shoaib Malik, former Pakistan cricket captain and her husband, during her practice in Hyderabad. (AP Image)

Sania's cricketer husband Shoaib Malik waves to the cameras as her wife plays a few shots in the background during a session on the courts.

"I feel happy to play in India before the crowd which is very good and drives me passionate (to play)," Malik said while speaking at the inaugural ceremony of a tennis academy.

The tennis academy was inaugurated in the presence of Sania Mirza and Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda.

Sania warms up before her practice session. (AP Image)

he academy is expected to host matches during the National Games which will be held in Jharkhand later.

It is a part of Ranchi's new world class cricket facility.

Sania Mirza reacts during a warm up session in Hyderabad. (AP Image)

Sania Mirza and husband Shoaib Malik arrive at Ranchi's Birsa Mnda Airport to inaugurate a tennis stadium for the 34th National Games. (PTI Photo)

Sania and Shoaib have been spending a lot of time in India after getting married earlier this year. (PTI Photo)

Sania during her warm up match. (AP Image)

At this reception in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh Governor ESL Narasimhan and Chief Minister K Rosaiah present a memento to the CWG silver medalist. (PTI Photo)

Andhra Pradesh Governor ESL Narasimhan and Chief Minister K Rosaiah present a memento CWG silver medal winning tennis player Sania Mirza during a reception in Hyderabad. (PTI Photo)

Sania Mirza comes out of a court after a practice session in Hyderabad. (AP Image)

Sania Mirza of India poses during the medal ceremony after winning silver in the Women Single's tennis final in the XIX Commonwealth Games at the R.K. Khanna Stadium in New Delhi. (AFP Photo)

Sania Mirza of India returns a shot in the Women's Single Final match against Anastasia Rodionova of Australia in the XIX Commonwealth Games at the R.K. Khanna Stadium in New Delhi. (AFP Photo)

Sania Mirza was seen practicing at Hyderabad's Lal Bahadur Stadium with Shoaib but Malik's appearance at Hyderabad's Gymkhana grounds for a practice session provoked some angry remarks.

The controversy though died a quick death and normalcy returned to the life of Sania Mirza and Shoaib Malik after a spate of problems.

Here, the couple interact during their practice session. (AP Image)

All smiles! (AP Image)

Indian tennis star Sania Mirza and her husband and Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik during their wedding reception in Sialkot. Many uninvited guests thronged the reception which led to the couple leaving the venue very soon.

Sania Mirza arrived with Shoaib Malik at the Karachi International Airport on April 22, 2010. Newlywed and hailed as cross-border peace ambassadors, Sania and Shoaib arrived to a frenzied reception.

Camera bulbs flashed and fans thronged to get a glimpse of the lovebirds as they landed at Karachi airport, their first visit here after their April 12 wedding that bridged the two nations' bitter sporting and political divide.

The pair are in Pakistan for a week of celebrations -- after a tough engagement and media frenzy that saw Muslim elders called in to arrange a divorce for Malik from a wife he long-denied ever having. (AFP Photo)

Sania and Shoaib at their wedding reception in Sialkot. The road to their marriage was a rocky one, with Muslim elders called in to arrange a divorce between Shoaib and a wife he had long denied ever having. (AFP Photo)

Sania and Shoiab make an early exit from their reception because of gatecrashers. (AFP Photo)

The couple arrive at Karachi's International Airport.

They have been hailed as crossborder peace ambassadors, with their wedding bridging the bitter India-Pakistan sporting and political divides.

Sania and Shoaib's reception was a low key affair with only about half the expected guests showing up.

The wedding date had to be brought forward from April 15 to April 12 because of the controversy that led up to it.

Sania wore the same red sari her mother, Nasima, had worn 25 years ago and became the second wife of the Pakistani cricketer who divorced Ayesha Siddiqui a week earlier amid much mud slinging.

The couple had a mehendi and a sangeet ceremony before the wedding in Hyderabd.

The Hyderabad reception was also fairly low profile.

Chandrababu Naidu flew the political flag at the reception. Showbiz was represented by actors Venkatesh, Nagarjuna, Neha Dhupia, Rakshanda Khan and Raza Murad (seen here).

Apart from Sahara Group Chairman Subrata Roy Sahara, also present were a Pakistani delegation led by their Minister of Welfare and Population Firdaus Ashiq Awana, who presented a golden crown to Sania.

Sania and Shoaib's sangeet ceremony was held a day before the wedding at a hotel in Hyderabad.

In an exclusive interview to NDTV, Sania and Shoaib Malik described how and where they met, and the toll their controversial wedding took on them.

Sania said that she spent three hours getting her mehendi applied. Ribbing her husband for his impatience, Sania said, "He couldn't sit still and he went away for an hour and a half, he told his brother 'entertain your bhabhi'."

Bride-to-be Sania at her mehendi ceremony.