Sania Mirza rates 2017 as 'decent' in spite of winning only one WTA

Six-time grand slam winner Sania Mirza has refused to dismiss 2017 as one of her disappointing seasons even after winning only the Brisbane International title and instead chose to rate it as 'decent' while talking to TOI in Noida on Sunday. The 31-year old tennis player had won ten and eight WTA titles in 2015 and 2016 respectively but in the previous year, injury played spoilsport. She is still recovering from a knee injury which she sustained in October, 2017 and is currently concentrating on health rehab. "I have had surgeries before, now I am just managing the pain. I turned professional in 2003. It's a very demanding life away from family and loved ones. I had a pretty long career. These four months will not make a difference to my career in a larger perspective. I am taking positives out of it. But, eventually, I will retire," said Sania. She revealed that she is taking small steps towards her recovery and her participation in the upcoming Asian Games in August still hangs in thin air. "The first Asian Games I played was in 2002 when I was 15. It's been really long, I would like to play another one if I can and win more medals. I have come back with medals every time I played. So it would be pretty amazing, but I can't look that far ahead, want to focus on my recovery." The tennis star from Hyderabad insisted on the necessity to have an all-inclusive sporting culture where the sheer number of sportspersons will grow by leaps and bounds. "Becoming a sporting nation does not mean how many champions you have, it means how many people are playing a sport. When you go to Australia or America, every kid there plays whatever it is, baseball or football. Because they have so many in numbers playing, they have so many champions. It has gotten a lot better (in India) in the last few years." She also feels that the Indian contingent will find it tough to do well in the upcoming Fed Cup, beginning on Wednesday at DLTA. Source: Tennis World USA Sania encouraged the need for sports in everyday life while inaugurating and endorsing a sports-themed private residential building project. "I endorse and encourage sports-centric living and children of such families who live here would be fortunate to have a tennis academy right in the middle of their neighbourhood. I used to take an auto-ride for an hour to reach my tennis academy. A sports-centric life is a healthy way to live," Sania said while inaugurating the project. The Sports Village located at Knowledge V region of Greater Noida, West is promoted by Supertech Realtors. It is set to have tennis, cricket, shooting, golf and badminton academies in 70 percent area while residential properties will be developed in remaining 30 percent. "The entire complex is of 4000 apartments. The first phase of 1000 apartments will be delivered in 2020. By 2023, we will complete the delivery and handover of the entire project," RK Arora, chairman, Supertech said. "The price range is affordable. A 2BHK starts at 22lakh here. With the Jewar airport coming up and with proposed metro connectivity, we expect these residences to become buzzing hubs in future," informed Mohit Arora, MD, Supertech. (source:ToI)