Rio 2016: Tearful Sania Mirza determined to get back on track

Sania Mirza

Rio de Janeiro: She has won just about everything there is to win in doubles - some in women's doubles and some in mixed - but this was one medal she wanted to so dearly.

Sania Mirza

For sometime on Saturday, it seemed within her, and her mixed doubles partner, Rohan Bopanna's grasp. But sport is cruel and their rivals, Rajeev Ram, an American of Indian origin, and the legendary Venus Williams found their bearings in time and turned the match around to win and enter the finals.

Left with a heart-breaking loss, Sania and Bopanna needed to pick up the pieces and come back for a bronze medal play-off. In pro tennis, there is just a win or loss no play-off matches, so it was indeed difficult.

Coming back on Sunday afternoon, Sania and Bopanna looked out of sorts as they lost the first set at 1-6 to Czechs Lucie Hradecka and Radek Stepanek and then despite a fight, they lost the next, too, at 5-7.

From being within a set of getting into the final, they were left empty-handed. And the Indians were yet to get on to the medal chart.

The tears welling up in her eyes could not be held back. Still she stayed the professional that she is and did her media cuties. "I don't know if I will be playing tennis in four years," she said. "It's really hard (the loss). Unfortunately we were not able to produce our best today".

Then she added, that as athletes, "we have to get over losses and try to bounce back."

Converting chances
After being broken in the first service game of first set, the Indians lost it 1-6. They did have their chances in the second set, but were not able to take them.

"In tennis, when you don't convert your chances, that's what happens to the match. There's not much I can say at the moment. We have to move on," she said. Caught up in emotions, she was not able to say anything in Hindi for a few vernacular journalists.