Getting back to top won't be easy: Sania Mirza
Bengaluru, Jan 9: The journey back to the top won't be easy, says star player Sania Mirza, who is targeting a return to competitive tennis by the end of 2019 season.
Sania recently had her first child with cricketer-husband Shoaib Malik. The winner of six Grand Slams has started training.
The 32-year-old Hyderabadi says she has to juggle many a roles and it is a demanding task.
"Well, I have been able to play these roles thick and fast. I have been a wife for a while. I have become mother just now. I am trying to get back to the top level. I know, it is not going to be easy, but nothing is worth than doing it," Sania told PTI.
"My realistic goal is to make a comeback to the sport. Probably by the end of this year it may happen. Earlier I had talked about my return by 2020. There was a reason for that. I didn't want to put pressure on myself and still don't," she said.
Sania said her life has changed completely after giving birth to her son Izhaan.
"Life changes a lot when you have an infant in the house. You are not the priority anymore. As sportspersons, we tend to be a little bit selfish all our life. It is all about us. It is all about our fitness, rest and work," Sania said.
"When an infant arrives in the house, it is nothing about you anymore. It is all about the infant. And, that is what motherhood is all about. The life becomes selfless," she on the sidelines of the inauguration of the 9th season of 'The Label Bazaar' exhibition here.
Sania said her son will have to freedom to choose his calling in life.
"I and my husband (Shoaib Malik) are not discussing it at all. He can be a doctor or whatever he wants to be, and that is how my parents have brought me about. They allowed me to choose whatever I wanted to do. May be, my son, will not be a sportsperson at all. You never know," she said.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
