Indian tennis star Sania Mirza was on Wednesday included in the federal government’s Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), four years after she opted out of the programme.
Sania was chosen in the TOPS throughout the 56th assembly of the Mission Olympic Cell in Delhi.
The 34-year-old a number of Grand Slam winner had opted out of the scheme when she was chosen final in 2017 as a result of of an harm breakdown which had led to a lay-off.
“Yes, Sania has been selected in the recent TOPS list,” a Sports Authority of India supply informed PTI.
Sania has already certified for the Tokyo Olympics based mostly on her protected rating earlier than she took a break from the sport attributable to being pregnant.
Sania is presently ranked 157th in the world however as per WTA guidelines when a participant takes a lay-off from the sport longer than six months on account of accidents or being pregnant, they’ll apply for a “special ranking” (additionally typically referred to as a “protected ranking”).
The particular rating of a participant is their world rating after the final match they performed and in Sania’s case, it was the China Open in October 2017. She was ranked world No. 9 at that time.
So, Sania presently has a particular rating of ninth and has already certified for the Tokyo Olympics.
The particular rankings had been launched by WTA as a result of of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sania was inactive for 2 years attributable to being pregnant and solely made her return to the court docket final 12 months following the start of her son on the season-opening Hobart International WTA occasion.
She partnered Ukrainian Nadiia Kichenok to win the ladies’s doubles title.
