Sania Mirza had to withdraw from the 2008 Beijing Olympics after suffering a wrist injury when competing against Czech Republic's Iveta Benesova in the first round. Sania was down 6-2, 2-1 in the match and was forced to withdraw due to immense pain.
"Yes, I'm referring to a couple of fronts. Not only in tennis, but even off the field, because I believe that many times we rely so heavily on our careers to bring happiness into our lives that we forget that our careers are just a part of our lives; they are not our lives "In a YouTube interview, Sania said.
"It's a lot clearer in my mind now that I'm 34," she said, "but there were a lot of incidents where I honestly felt like I couldn't do this at 20."
"One incident occurred when I had to withdraw from my Olympic match. I had a bad wrist injury during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. I was down for 3-4 months after that, and I recall crying for no obvious reason.
I'd be fine for a few moments before bursting into tears. She continued, "I recall not coming out of my room for over a month to even eat a meal."
Sania went on to say about her fight, "I felt like I'd never be able to play tennis again." Since I am a bit of a control freak, not being able to do anything on my own terms was very difficult for me to accept."
"The fact that I was being pushed into not being able to do what I loved or what I was good at really bothering me.It's a lot for anyone at any age, but for a 20-year-old to hear that they're done or won't be able to participate in the Olympics again is devastating."
Mirza went on to say that her injury was so severe that she couldn't even comb her hair.
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"To put things in perspective, my wrist was so bad that I couldn't even comb my hair. I wanted surgery because I had lost all of my motion. It got worse after the surgery. What was going on was a confusing situation. I felt like I had betrayed my family and country. My family guided me in the right direction, and I received the help I needed."
Sania said, "I happened to win two medals at the Commonwealth Games in India."
Sania has 14 medals (six of them gold) from three main multi-sport events: the Asian Games, the Commonwealth Games, and the Afro-Asian Games. In addition, she has six Grand Slam titles to her credit.