For Sania Mirza, is Rio the final frontier?

Sania Mirza will hope to improve on her past showings at the Olympics, but it will also be the naysayers back home that she will look to silence

Indian tennis star Sania Mirza has expressed her excitement at the prospect of competing at the upcoming Rio Olympics, and is hopeful of improving on her past showings in the quadrennial event.

“I am leaving for Canada tomorrow and then for Rio Olympics from there. I am looking forward. We are the biggest contigent that’s going. We are really excited and hopefully we can put up a good performance,” Sania, who was speaking on the sidelines of a fashion show in Hyderabad, was quoted as saying by PTI.

She will be partnering Prarthana Thombare in the women’s doubles category, and will team up with Rohan Bopanna in mixed doubles for the Games.

Sania Mirza has previously participated at the 2008 and the 2012 Olympic Games, and had reached the quarters of the mixed-doubles category in 2012 alongside Leander Paes, her furthest participation at the Games. In women’s doubles, her best showing has been a second round appearance.

While improving her record at the Games will be among the top of her priorities, with mixed doubled representing a good chance of winning a medal, Sania will also be looking to quieten some of the naysayers back home.

The Hyderabad-born star has often been targeted by far-right groups in India for her marriage with Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik.

In an interview with NDTV in 2014, Sania broke down and said, “I will not let anyone question my Indian-ness.” While Sania’s success in the tennis court in recent times has gone a long way in silencing the radical nationalist voices she has been targetted by, a good showing in Rio will be more than enough to shut these voices down for ever.

- NDTV