Sania Mirza turns on the power

Friday, 05 December 2008

Sania Mirza, who until three months ago was struggling to grip a glass of water in her right hand, is back to striking her dreaded fore hand with military firepower. The 22-year-old's battered wrist had gone under the knife in April. Later in the summer, Sania made brief comebacks before bowing out of the Beijing Olympic Games in tears. A period of darkness and doubt ended when she was introduced to Dr Jatin Chaudhry, who specialises in the rare South Korean science of spiral therapy or the regeneration of body cells. Within days, she was on the road to recovery. The Hyderabadi has been hitting the ball for almost a month now at rigorous training sessions, lasting up to two hours. During the pre-season camp at the Tennis Village here on Thursday, she showed that if anything, she's perhaps hitting the ball harder than before. Playing under the keen gaze of her father Imran, Sania, considerably leaner and moving a shade a quicker, has regained the full movement of her wrist. She's also able to hold firm when necessary. Both functions had been lost for a good part of the summer when her forehand looked frayed and her tennis pedestrian. However, the practice courts are one thing and the heat of competition quite another. Nobody knows that better than Sania. To begin with, she's taking her time coming back. The Indian ace returns to tournament play in January with a high-profile exhibition event in Hong Kong, followed by a WTA event in Hobart and then the Australian Open. For Sania, now ranked outside the top-100 for the first time in three years, the early months of 2009 will be as much a test of craft as of character.

 

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