Sania is set to create history as she will become the first female athlete from India to participate in four different Olympics Games.
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She might be in the twilight years of her career, but Indian tennis superstar Sania Mirza is far from hanging up her boots just yet. The 34-year-old will take part in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics in the women’s doubles event. For the first time in her career, she will team up with a player who is ranked within the top 100 players in the world. It is safe to say that Mirza is the greatest female tennis player in the country. She might well be the greatest athlete in the sport to ever come out of India, irrespective of gender. Mirza made her comeback to the sport in January last year as she won the Hobart International WTA event. She will become the first female athlete from India who will participate in four Olympics.
“I have had an amazing career,” said Mirza told Olympics.com. “It’s just about believing in yourself and believing in your abilities. I am in my 30s and I’m still here! I don’t really think too much about it (how long I will play). I take it day by day, I don’t really think too far into the future,” she added.
The 34-year-old welcomed her first child, Izhaan, in 2018, after which she decided to take a break from the sport and focus on parenting. A couple of years later, she made an incredibly strong comeback at Hobart in 2020. She will now have to keep her fitness at the highest level as the Wimbledon and the Olympics are scheduled just a month apart from one another.
“I have been doing a lot of on-court work,” she said. “But I have been training off-court as well. I have been doing a lot of explosive movements and agility stuff just to stay sharp and powerful,” Mirza added.
Her last experience in the Olympics was a particularly heartbreaking one. She had teamed up with Rohan Bopanna for the mixed doubles event in Rio. The duo played fantastic tennis but could not bring home a medal. They had to settle for an agonizing fourth place. Mirza said that it was one of the most devastating moments of her life. However, she seemed positive ahead of the Games in Tokyo and said that she was grateful to represent her country at four different Olympics.
“Having said that, I am really looking forward to it. I love representing India, everywhere I play, but especially playing for the country at the Olympics is a matter and pride for all the athletes. I was told if I do play in Tokyo I will have competed in the most number of Olympics by any woman, teaming up with someone else. I am ever so grateful for being here and look forward to my next Olympics,” the 34-year-old said.
Mirza will use her protected world ranking of 9 to enter the Olympics and play alongside India’s highest-ranked doubles player, Ankita Raina (95). This will be the first time at the Olympics that she will play with someone who is ranked within the top 100 tennis players in the world.
“Ankita is a hard-working, sincere girl. She spent some time with me right before the Billie Jean King Cup,” the 34-year-old said. “The first time I met her she was maybe 14 or 15. And she’s very disciplined, which is her biggest strength. I have never gone into the Olympics with a fellow female Indian player who is top-100 in the world. It’s really good to play with someone who is on the tour on a regular basis. She has a long way to go. But at least she’s there, playing every week and kind of understand the level,” she added.
