We are not a sporting nation. Missing bronze medal at Rio Olympics was very painful, says Sania Mirz

Mumbai, July 6 (IANS): Tennis legend Sania Mirza laments that India is not a sporting nation. She expressed disappointment at missing out on an Olympic medal, calling the day she and Rohan Bopanna lost the bronze medal match at the Rio Olympics in 2016 “one of the worst days”. her life.

In addition to gold medals at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha and 2010 in Incheon, Sania has won three Grand Slam titles in women’s doubles and three mixed doubles titles. She is the only Indian player to have ranked No. 1 in doubles and top 30 in women’s singles during her two-decade professional career – from February 2003 to February 2023.

At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna lost to Lucie Hradecka and Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic in a bronze medal match.

“I think if there’s one thing I’m missing in my career, it’s probably the Olympic medal. We were so close in Rio 2016 and I don’t usually cry when I lose games, but that’s something.” “It hurts sometimes when I think about it today,” Sania said in an interview with the former Indian Cricket player Veda Krishnamurthy in the JioCinema original show Home of Heroes.

“Winning an Olympic medal for your country and for yourself and your family is the greatest dream any athlete can have. And we got very, very close to him, we got painfully close to him. I mean finishing fourth at the Olympics is the worst. You would rather finish 30th than fourth. Three get the medal and then the fourth has nothing. So it was very painful, it was one of the worst days of my life and Rohan’s for so many reasons. “But yeah, we had to finish the game,” Sania said, according to a press release.

In the third part of her interview, Sania Mirza spoke about resuming her tennis career after motherhood, her relationship with the media and her thoughts on how India can become a sporting nation.

Speaking of her “love-hate” relationship with the media, Sania said, “I think media doesn’t troll, media is media. I had a love-hate relationship with the media. It’s been more love than hate lately.” There used to be more hate than love. But over time I’ve also made some really good friends in the media. I think when I came everyone was surprised at first because no other athlete was a star.

“And so it was fun for both of us. I think they learned about what I wore, who I ate dinner with and who I didn’t, why I ate dinner. So I guess they had to sell their newspapers and I had to protect my sanity. But over time we started to like each other. “We got along better and we have a great relationship now,” Sania was quoted as saying in the press release.

Sania said she’s noticed during her two-decade career, when she’s been exposed to media attention, that some media people talk about her clothes without attracting attention and that it doesn’t affect her as her parents tell her supported.

“I wasn’t aware at all. I think a lot of that was also done by the media because it got boring talking about the same girl playing forehands and backhands every day. So how much will they want to talk about it? So, it got boring and they wanted to make it hot and many of my problems that happened to me in my early years were unfortunately created by many mediums. And that’s the way it was. And I was never nervous. And that’s because I had my parents. I knew no matter what happened, they had my back. And I think my parents came to where they had that solid foundation for me, where I believed, regardless of everything that happened in my life, that core of what I have will never be in the form of my friends, my family and so on. So I was never afraid to do anything because I always knew they had my back.”

When asked what needs to be done for the country to have another Sania Mirza, the Hyderabad-born tennis legend said it could only be done by changing the entire culture, investing in the sport and introducing a system to encourage children aged one and over can be reached at a young age.

“We can’t be a sporting nation four months before the Olympics and then be a sporting nation four months after and that’s it for four years. We are not a sports nation. We are a cricket nation. And people don’t like it when.” I say that. But that is the truth. And sometimes you have to hear the truth to make a difference. We’re not someone, especially when a girl is born, we don’t say, ‘Let’s make her an athlete.’ It’s not said at all. When you go to Australia it’s a sporting nation where you go and watch every sport and it’s packed.”

“So, firstly, we have to change the culture, secondly, we have to put a system in place and thirdly, we have to nurture kids from eight, nine, ten years old and not wait for something to come of it and then invest money in them or time in them.” invest. Also, I think it’s very important that we have the right kind of coaches and coaches, whether they’re brought in from the outside to train the people we have here, or just people from the outside to help “These children you identify will be your tomorrow,” said Sania, who is married to Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik and lives in Dubai.

Sania also spoke about her motherhood, saying it was a well-considered decision to have a child when she was in the top 10 in the world doubles rankings, her decision to return to the circuit with her son in tow and on how she lost She gained 50 pounds in four months and went on to win her first tournament in Hobart, Australia.

“For me it wasn’t just about proving to myself that I still had tennis at the highest level in me. As I said, I also wanted to set an example that as a young mother you don’t bring life to an end just because you’ve done it.” A child is the beginning of life.

“And just because you put yourself first doesn’t make you a bad mother. It doesn’t make you a bad person or a bad woman. It makes you human. And if a man can do that without thinking twice, then why?” Can’t a woman do that? So those were some of the motivations I had. And if people say I can’t, then I have to do it. There’s no way we don’t. That was the inner rebel in me,” said Sania.