Talking about the pregnancy she said,
“It was just about time… I was down with my knee injury anyway and we had been thinking about it for a while… We thought it was a good time to start a family and experience this new phase of our lives,” Sania told IANS over phone from Hyderabad.
The star said she’s looking to comeback to the sports scene with 2020 Olympics!
“The 2020 Olympics is a long way off. I’ve said this many times that as tennis players, we wish we knew what our lives brought us tomorrow. Having said that though, it definitely looks very doable right now. But one has to wait and watch where life really takes you. Most definitely, I would say coming back to playing is priority as soon as the pregnancy is done,” said the 31-year-old, who is due to deliver her first child in October.
Sania, whose baby’s surname would be Mirza-Malik said motherhood will not be an obstacle to her career:
“Pregnancy is not something that holds you back in any way. It’s very empowering and is something that is part of being a woman and it’s something I always looked forward to… having a family… (I knew) tennis is something that will take a backseat eventually.
“My goal is obviously to come back and that’s the most important thing. Of course, my kid is very important in my life right now, but after that, I would like to come back to playing because it’s an example I’d like to set for my kid as well that you don’t give up on your dreams just because you’re pregnant,” said the youth icon, adding: “I am young enough to come back and still play and be the best that I can be.”
Talking about women in sports she added:
“It’s pretty incredible as we come from a culture where sports is not the first profession that people think of putting their child in… Things are obviously changing… There’s still a long way to go, but it has changed a lot, at least since I started playing tennis.
“Today, a parent is putting the confidence in their child, a girl or a boy — a girl more I think — that they can be a professional athlete, and it doesn’t have to be their second job,” she said, adding that Indian athletes’ performance at the Commonwealth Games this year is proof that “we’re moving in the right direction”.
