ISLAMABAD – After motherhood, will Sania Mirza bounce back to the tenniscourt for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics?
It’s a long way off, feels the former doubles world No. 1 who says resumingher game is a priority as soon as the pregnancy is done, India today hasreported.
Sania wants to set an example that people shouldn’t give up dreams justbecause they’re pregnant. Sania and her cricketer husband Shoaib Malik, whogot married in 2010, *announced her pregnancy last monthlink>*.
“It was just about time… I was down with my knee injury anyway and we hadbeen thinking about it for a while… We thought it was a good time tostart a family and experience this new phase of our lives,” Sania told IANSover phone from Hyderabad.
The tennis ace is suffering from a condition called jumper’s knee, whichhas kept her off the game for over six months. She even missed theAustralian Open earlier this year.
Is the knee any better?
“It definitely is. I haven’t played since mid-October, so it has been asolid six months and more. Rest was something everyone was recommending…So, I won’t say it’s perfect, but it’s better,” said the sportswoman, whofinds it difficult to rest.
Will she compete at the 2020 Olympics?
“The 2020 Olympics is a long way off. I’ve said this many times that astennis players, we wish we knew what our lives brought us tomorrow. Havingsaid that though, it definitely looks very doable right now. But one has towait and watch where life really takes you. Most definitely, I would saycoming back to playing is priority as soon as the pregnancy is done,” saidthe 31-year-old, who is due to deliver her first child in October.
She is not letting weight woes worry her.
“Weight is so superficial. For a woman, it’s all about embracing thepregnancy. When you’re pregnant, what’s most important is having a healthybaby. I really want women to understand that whether you’re a celebrity ornot, it doesn’t matter. You are going to get bigger when you’re pregnantand you will lose the weight as long as you want to.”
Sania, whose baby’s surname would be Mirza-Malik — an amalgam of the lastnames of both the parents — is confident she won’t let motherhood hold herback in her career.
“Pregnancy is not something that holds you back in any way. It’s veryempowering and is something that is part of being a woman and it’ssomething I always looked forward to… having a family… (I knew) tennisis something that will take a backseat eventually.
“My goal is obviously to come back and that’s the most important thing. Ofcourse, my kid is very important in my life right now, but after that, Iwould like to come back to playing because it’s an example I’d like to setfor my kid as well that you don’t give up on your dreams just becauseyou’re pregnant,” said the youth icon, adding: “I am young enough to comeback and still play and be the best that I can be.”
Does she see anyone capable of taking over her mantle in the domesticcircuit?
Sania laughed and said: “I mean, I don’t know… I am pregnant, sohopefully someone can. I think there are a couple of young girls who arequite good. There’s Ankita Raina, Karman Kaur Thandi and PrarthanaThombare… These are the girls who are the next generation. They are 23,24 years old, and these are the girls I’ve seen since they were 16 or 17.
“They are going to be in the race, whether it’s today, tomorrow or when Iam done and retired. So hopefully, one of them will come out. It’s aboutmaking that next big step… A few more things if they fall into place, wewill have one of them come out.”
Overall, the star athlete is quite buoyed by the success of women in theglobal sports arena of late.