Sania chasing the Olympic dream

Says she wants to win a medal in Tokyo

Ready for the battle: Sania is conscious of the kind of challenges one has to face to win an Olympic medal.

At 34, six-time Grand Slam winner Sania Mirza is chasing yet another dream — to win an Olympic medal.

“Olympics has been at the back of my mind. I am practising more than four hours daily,” she said in an exclusive chat with The Hindu after another long grind at the Sania Mirza Tennis Academy here.

“I try to stay healthy and keep myself fit for the challenge of taking part in the Olympics, which will be my fourth. An Olympic medal is one thing which is missing from my list of achievements. I want to shut this chapter of my life with a medal in Tokyo,” Sania said.

“I want to put myself in a position to be in with a chance of winning. I love to stay positive and am conscious of the kind of challenges one has to face to win an Olympic medal,” Sania said.

Step by step

“I will take it step by step. It will be a different kind of challenge to be back in the circuit after such a long gap because of the pandemic. The bio bubble is going to be another major issue,” she said after a long training session with Davis Cupper Saketh Myneni and others.

“There is nothing like setting a major goal as I look ahead. The biggest challenge during the pandemic is to stay healthy. Even, I have recovered from the COVID-19. That way, it took a little bit longer for me to start full length training,” Sania revealed.

On yet another comeback when she will be competing in the forthcoming Doha and Dubai Opens, Sania says she is really excited. “I am looking forward to compete again. Let us see how it goes.”