Ankita Raina to partner Sania Mirza at Tokyo Olympics 2021
Ankita Raina, Sania Mirza
Sania Mirza is all set to compete in her fourth Olympics Games as she will partner, Ankita Raina in the Women’s Doubles Event in Tokyo. Ankita Raina took to Instagram to announce that she would participate at Olympics.
Although she has been out of action for quite a while, Sania Mirza qualified for Tokyo Olympics due to the injury protected ranking of number nine. As a result, Sania can partner anyone ranked inside the top 300 in Women’s Doubles.
Ankita Raina is ranked 95th in doubles, and the ranking list on 14th June will be used for the final entry to the Olympics. Sunitha Rao, Rushmi Chakravarthi and Prarthana Thombare have partnered Sania Mirza at 2008, 2012 and 2016 Olympics respectively.
Ankita Raina has a slim chance to enter Singles Event at Tokyo Olympics
In another big news for Ankita Raina, the Indian has a small chance of making the cut for the Singles Event at Tokyo Olympics, by virtue of being the bronze medalist at Asian Games. Wang Qiang and Shuai Zhang, gold medalist and silver medalist at Asian Games 2018 got a direct entry into the women’s singles event, by virtue of being ranked inside the top 56.
Sania Mirza had invited Ankita Raina for a one-week long training session in Dubai, prior to the Billie Jean Cup tie against Latvia. The duo were inducted into Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) by Sports Authority of India (SAI) and were provided funding for the Olympic Games.
Ankita Raina thanked her employer, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) on Instagram and wrote, “the effort and hard work put in all these years have been fruitful with your invaluable support and encouragement”.
Also Read: Sports Ministry reaches out to UK government to grant visa for Sania Mirza’s son
Nirmit Mehta
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