Sania pairs up with Thombare for Rio women's doubles

"Sania Mirza has assured us of the position in Olympics and we must complement her had she not been in Top 10 it would be impossible for India to have placed a team in Olympics in women’s doubles," AITA chief Anil Khanna said.

Sania Mirza will team up with Rohan Bopanna for the mixed doubles.

For the women’s doubles event is concerned, Sania will be teaming up with Prarthana Thombare to represent India in Olympics.

"Sania Mirza has assured us of the position in Olympics and we must complement her had she not been in Top 10 it would be impossible for India to have placed a team in Olympics in women’s doubles,” AITA chief Anil Khanna said.

The Rio Olympics is slated to be held from August 5 to August 21.

Thombare factfile

She hails from a relatively obscure town, Barshi near Sholapur, which did not even boast of a tennis court when she started playing the game. Now it is a dream come true for the 22-year-old Prarthana Thombare as she will partner her idol in women’s doubles, Sania Mirza, in the 2016 Rio Olympics this August.

Backed by her wonderful run in ITF tournaments in the last one year which saw her win 11 titles in the 16 finals she appeared in, Prarthana had been nursing an ambition to be there at the Olympics. “Having won the Asian Games partnering Sania and the gold in the South Asian Games, my dream is to play for India in the Olympics,” she said.

And ever since she joined the Sania Mirza Tennis Academy in Hyderabad last year, the rise has been steady and noteworthy, especially in doubles.

The spirited youngster relishes the experience of playing with Sania. “Playing with her is a huge learning curve. She is so affable and always shares a few thoughts on the game,” said Prarthana recently.