Indian tennis star Sania Mirza, who is recovering from a knee injury sustained during the US Open, on Tuesday said that staying fit and injury-free would be key to her London Olympics dreams. “At the moment, I’m in the top-100 in singles and the fact is I’m still very much there. Of course I’m 11th in the world in doubles. At this point, it would be very easy for me to say that I’ll play only doubles. It would be physically very much easier,” the 25-year-old Hyderabadi told reporters on the sidelines of a promotional event for Nokia. “But yes this (2012) is an Olympic year which comes at the end of the season for us. So yes, you have to see that you stay healthy (to play in Olympics). But it all depends on how my knee reacts after two-three months. I can plan better only after two-three months,” she added. She was replying to a query on whether she would think of concentrating only on one format considering her injuries. Top 60 players in singles and top 10 in doubles make automatic qualification in Olympics.
On whether she was thinking about cutting down on tournaments to prolong her career, Sania replied in negative. “As a professional, it’s very difficult to cut down on tournaments as you have to defend points. If you have to play full time…injury is a part of sport and you have to learn to manage it and try to avoid it. Everyone gets injured. Some sustain smaller injuries and some bigger.
“What happened to my knee was an accident that can happen to anyone whether you play for one week or 50. If you have to compete at the highest level, you have to give it all. It’s just a matter of time and spacing it out and luck,” she said.
Sania said she was recovering well and would return to action later this month in New Zealand. “With God’s grace I’m recovering well. A 2-3 week camp is on at Bombay Gymkhana where I’m training with Mahesh Bhupathi. I do practice for about five hours every day. My first tournament is in New Zealand from December 31,” she said. “I have decided about my schedule only until February. I will play in Australia and New Zealand and then we have the Federation Cup in China,” she added.
