LONDON: Sania Mirza will be the first Indian woman to compete in four Olympic matches but she admitted that Thursday it would be “difficult” to be separated from her young son when he was in Tokyo.
Family members are prohibited from going to this month’s match when the Japanese authorities aim to reduce the risk of the Covid-19 as much as possible for the 34-year-old Mirza, that means Izhan, his son and the husband and ex-captain of Pakistan Shoaib Malik, will live with family when he is located in Tokyo.
“We are in difficult times and we have to make a difficult decision,” Mirza said.
“But never in my mind, did I have doubts about leaving.
I’m very sure.” Izhan, who will only turn around three in October this year, sit by his mother at a press conference at Wimbledon on Thursday.
“Leave it anytime difficult.
I tried doing it as little as possible,” he added.
“But if it’s something I have to do, then that’s what I will do.
As a mother who works, sometimes you have to do it.” Mirza will play double in Tokyo with Ankita Raina.
“To play four consecutive Olympics, I feel very humble and grateful to be in this position to go to Tokyo after having a baby,” he said.
Mirza marked him back to Wimbledon for the first time since 2017 on Thursday when he and Bethanie Mattek-Sands beat the sixth seed Alexa Guarachi and Desirae Krawczyk 7-5, 6-3 in women’s doubles.
Mirza was a double champion with Martina Hingis at Wimbledon in 2015, following up with the second slam in the US open two months later.
His career doubled the title Haul standing at 42 with more than 500 compatibility to win his name.
He joked that he and Mattek-Sands, 36, striking blows for the older generation at the All England Club.
“That’s like before,” Mirza said playing with Americans with whom he had won five tour titles.
“We joked that we were spring chicken, flying flags for players born in the 1980s because all the girls in the lottery seemed to be from the 90s.”