Sania Mirza: Would be proud of myself if I am able to compete at a fourth Olympics

Former World No. 1 Sania Mirza says that she is looking forward to playing the Olympics but it is not something she is focused on. The Indian was speaking after winning her comeback title at the WTA event in Hobart over the weekend.

According to The Times of India, Mirza says, "The Olympics is something that’s in the back of my mind. It’s not something that I’m focusing on right now, but it is something I look forward to. I’m already proud of myself for having put myself in this position to compete again at the highest level, anything that happens after this is a bonus. I really appreciate this a lot. Playing tennis was far from my mind, still the Olympics is not something as tennis players we can focus on. I would be proud of myself if I put myself in a position to compete there again for a fourth time, to put myself in a position to win that only medal that is missing from my cabinet. It would be awesome if it happened, but if it doesn’t happen, I’m not going to kill myself.I was like if it does happen great, if not… It wasn’t something I was actively working towards, I was actively working towards getting fit again. I wasn’t working towards a goal of saying I want to get back at this point in time. It was only six-seven months ago, that I felt it. I started practicing a lot more, I was hitting once a week and then I started doing it twice a week and then thrice a week. It was a gradual process.”

If she does compete in the Tokyo Olympics, it would be the fourth Olympic Games she would have played in and it is almost likely that this would be her last attempt at the Olympic Games.

On her win in Hobart, Mirza says, "I was nervous for my first match, but the rest has been pretty organic. Everything feels normal. As an athlete you live for this, live to fight in these moments. It’s natural, it’s like breathing. When people ask me why I’m returning to competition, this is why I’m returning, for these moments. I still believe I have some tennis left in me. It doesn’t feel like I have to put effort into anything, be it spending time with Izhaan, going for practice or going to the gym, which is why we are all travelling together, everything becomes easier. If you want to play at the highest level, which is what I’m trying to do, you are going to have to give your 100 per cent. I was alright under the circumstances, I felt I played alright, better than I expected. Physically too, it was fine except for the calf muscle I pulled a month ago, which I strained again during the final. That’s a result of not playing matches for a while, you push your body that extra bit when playing a match. No amount of practice or repetitions can replicate a match situation. You can’t replicate nerves, match circumstances, that feeling of wanting to win. You can’t do that in practice, it’s not possible."

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