Sania Mirza made a rousing return to the court as she reached the semifinals of the Qatar Open on Wednesday. The Indian, who has teamed up with Slovenian Andreja Klepac, will take on the pair of Demi Schuurs and Nicole Melichar on Thursday, with the match scheduled to take place at 5 PM IST. 


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Speaking on her return to the court, the Indian tennis star said her elusive desire to clinch an Olympic medal has motivated her to pursue her dream. She will be taking part in her fourth Olympics at the upcoming event in Tokyo, which is scheduled to start from July 23. 


The 34-year-old, recently recovered from Covid-19 in January, said she wanted to avenge the defeat she suffered in the Olympic bronze medal play-off match in 2016 when she lost 6-1 7-5 in mixed doubles with partner Rohan Bopanna.


"The Tokyo Olympics was definitely one of the reasons (for my comeback)," six-time Grand Slam doubles champion Mirza was quoted as saying in a Reuters report. 


"We came really, really close to winning that medal last time (when) we lost the bronze medal match. I feel when I sort of close this chapter of my life... an Olympic medal is something that I would have loved to win. So I want to give myself another shot at it. Whether I can be or will I be able to? Time will tell, but that is something important to me and it was one of the motivations for me to come back."


Mirza, who became a mother in October 2018, also said she is motivated to inspire women to chase their dreams.


"Women sort of think that once they have a baby, life is over, but it`s not," she said.


"You don't have to crush your dreams because you have a child. You can still go after them."  


- with Reuters inputs