Mirza went out in the second round of the Australian Open

Sania Mirza, 19, from Hyderabad, has so far risen to 34 in the women's rankings, and has caused a stir as much by what she wears on court as her performances.

Last year she became the first Indian woman to reach the fourth round of the US Open, although she went out in the second round of the recent Australian Open.

Novy Kapadia, one of India's leading sports commentators, told BBC World Service's Sports International programme that Mirza's "phenomenal achievement" had made her a role model in the country.

"She has the same killer approach as Steffi Graf. She's just shown that an ordinary Indian girl can achieve a lot with dedication," he said.

"Sania Mirza is also a success story because the tennis federation, to a certain extent, has been able to market her.

"The board of control for cricket in India are like Chelsea in England - they are way above. But there is a vacuum in Indian sport, and sports like tennis and shooting are coming up because they have been able to modernise."

'Great motivator'

Mirza's success has been inspiring for a country yet to register on the global sporting map outside of cricket and hockey.

India is often compared with China as both countries have massive populations.

But while China recorded 32 gold medals - together with 17 silver and 14 bronze - at the Athens Olympics in 2004, India took only one medal, a silver for double-trap shooter Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore.

In India it's all cricket - and more cricket Indian Olympic Committee president Suresh Kalmadi

Rathore himself said that he was hopeful both he and Mirza would be able to win medals at the next Olympics, in Beijing in 2008.

"She is a great motivator for sport in our country," he said.

"But it must be understood that Sania comes from a very affluent background. People like Sania and me have things which are laid out for them - 80-90% of the Indian population does not have access to all these things that the elite have access to.

"In that 80-90% lies the cream of the talent for India. If India is to beat China or America, we have to address that 80%. We have to address those Muslim women who are not of modern thinking.

"We have to get them out of the houses. We have to get Hindu women out of the houses. We have to find a healthy food for Indian people to eat, for them to run, to compete with the stronger European. That's the essence of it."

All cricket

Mirza, who is Muslim, has been criticised by a leading cleric of wearing "indecent dress" and being a "corrupting influence on young women" after she appeared on court wearing short clothing.

However, she told Sports International that she was not overly concerned by the comments.

"My explanation is that I don't think anyone's perfect," she said.

"Maybe I wear short skirts, but I still pray five times a day and I do what other Muslims do. Some people have a beard, and they don't do stuff like that.

"I guess it just depends - I'm not saying that what I'm doing is right, but I don't think anyone should object. It's me and my God, it's me and my parents."

Rathore was India's only medallist in Athens

Suresh Kalmadi, the president of the Indian Olympic Committee, believes that raising the profile of sport outside cricket is very important in India.

The country is to host the 2010 Commonwealth Games, is bidding for the 2014 Asian Games and is aiming to bid for the Olympics.

"In India, it's all cricket - and more cricket," he said.

"We want to bring in Olympic sports and, through these events, we can popularise them."

But he added that the corporate sector is only interested in cricket - a sport which is not played in the Olympics.

"I've been trying to convince them to sponsor Olympic sports, and if you get a medal out of that the amount of mileage you can get is phenomenal," he said.