Sania Mirza: We need to be a sporting nation overall and not just a month before the Olympics

The Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics results have clearly made 2021 the best year for Indian sports with seven and 19 medal, respectively, a feat which tennis star Sania Mirza lauds.

“At the end of the day we should be very proud of all our athletes because there is a lot of challenge that goes into it. Not just winning a medal but reaching to that level to play at the Olympics… Having said that we are very proud of all medal winners an d all our athletes,” shares Mirza.

But there is something that the 34-year-old feels needs to be worked upon in order to get even better results, from ground level to the top.

“To get more medals, we need to be sporting nation overall, not just two weeks or one month before the Olympics. The way that we are and the way that we function, there has to be a change. Of course schools need to encourage kids more, a lot of corporate structure needs to come in,” she explains.

And more than that, every individual needs to develop a mentality that would be in the direction of taking sports more seriously.

“We need to make our mentality into a sporting mentality and believe that sports is a very important aspect of our life. It has to be incorporated and only then can we really expect to talk about sporting great nation and win a lot of medals at the Olympics,” Mirza adds.

The multiple Grand Slam winner also has an advice for all parents and says that she would not have achieved what she has had her parents not been there to support her throughout.

“All that I want to tell every parent is to let their kids choose what they want to choose. Help them guide them and support them in every decision, and have their backs. That is what may parents have done and I am forever grateful for that,” she ends.