Mumbai: Tennis ace Sania Mirza will be busy slugging it out in the mixed doubles and women’s doubles at Rio Olympics to earn a medal for India, but the Hyderabadi player revealed that she will root for the national hockey team whenever she gets an opportunity from her busy schedule.
“I will definitely like to watch Indian hockey team in action. We didn’t make into Olympics last time (at Beijing). I am a huge fan of hockey and will love to see them do well,” she said.
Although World No. 1 women’s doubles player sees her partnership with Rohan Bopanna as the best bet to win a medal in the mixed doubles, she isn’t taking her partnership with lower-ranked Prarthana Thombare in the women’s doubles event lightly.
“Me and Prarthana from a good partnership. We won together a medal in the (Incheon) Asian Games. She is a young girl and has lot of prospect. She comes from Barshi, plays in the Sania Mirza Academy since last year-and-a-half. It will be a good experience for her. Hopefully, we will see a lot from her,” Sania said at an event here to promote her autobiography Ace Against Odds, with Bollywood star Salman Khan.
Sania said there could be no replacement for her partner Martina Hingis in India, but she hoped Prarthana could take the mantle from her. “We hope she can become really good and have someone to take the mantle from me. Because I am close to 30 and have done three surgeries, my body feels like 50 and I am not playing forever. She can become good. There are also Ankita Raina and Karman Kaur Thandi, who is good, and one of these girls probably and hopefully will be that next girl after me,” she said.
The tennis star was happy that a lot of young girls like Prarthana are showing good promise in the sport. “It is good that a lot of young girls are coming forward. Not only in tennis, in other sports as well — Mary Kom, Saina Nehwal and P.V. Sindhu are doing great. So, we are moving forward, but there is room for improvement.”
