Monday, March 14 2005 19:51 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Short dresses worn by tennis players are stopping many Indian parents from letting their daughters play the game, the father of India's new tennis star Sania Mirza was quoted as saying.

Many Hindu, Muslim and Christian parents have told me that the tennis dress is working as a deterrent against sending their girls to the court," Imran Mirza said. "Is there a possibility of changing it to suit our needs?"

His 18-year-old daughter is the latest sporting sensation in India, a conservative country where female stars are rare in sports. After a stunning opening to 2005 in which she notched major upsets in the Australian Open and Dubai Open championships, she has been signed up for multimillion-dollar endorsements, with millions of fans across the country.

Imran said he had done some research, and found that there was no tennis rule that barred women from wearing longer clothes. As an example, he said: "I ... found out that Slovak Daniela Hantuchova wears a full-sleeved T-shirt and longish skirts."