New Delhi: Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza hailed Maria Sharapova's stance to come out in public and announce about her failed dope test during the Australian Open this year.
“Yeah, everybody was surprised. I think it was pretty gutsy of her to make that announcement. To come out and say, 'I'm sorry it happened' and take responsibility for it, because ultimately we are all responsible for what we put into our bodies.
“She took the full blame, she didn't blame anyone else. It was classy. I can tell you that as an athlete to face a room full of media and give possibly the worst news for an athlete is extremely daring. If I was, God forbid, in that situation, I think I would've done exactly the same thing,” Sania told Times of India, in an exclusive interview.
At that time, in her defense, Sharapova said she has been taking the medicine mildronate, prescribed by a family doctor, since 2006 for a magnesium deficiency. The substance, also known as meldonium, was added to the banned list this year.
As Rio Olympics is few months away, while talking about the Games, Sania looked a bit disappointed with what happened last time during the London Olympics.
“I do believe what happened last time at the Olympics (London, 2012) left a very bad taste in everyone's mouths. It wasn't fair on anyone, not on me or Leander or Mahesh (Bhupathi) or Rohan. Four years ago, we missed a genuine chance for a medal by not fielding our best team, which at that point in time was Mahesh and me,” added Saina.
