To attain excellence in any field whatsoever, you, more often than not, need to break the shackles of conventions, norms and 'beliefs' (as opposed to rational conclusions). It remains to the individual to decide which path he/she wants to take. No individual (since we all have our emotional sides) can be absolutely comfortable moving away from the norms of society. The one who has the courage to do so is the one who has the highest chances of success. I think this is what Sania has done, and the maulvi has no business interfering with the business of someone out to strive for excellence. But for people like the maulvi, probably India would have had many more success stories.