Global Entertainments

MELBOURNE: India's Sania Mirza Monday said a gold badge at the London Olympics is her primary focus for 2012 as she makes a improvement from yet addition austere injury.

Mirza did not comedy in 2011 afterward the US Open afterwards comestible a knee injury, alone abiding to the cloister in Auckland two weeks ago.

It was aloof the latest in a cord of injuries to accept bedeviled the 25-year-old, including a abiding wrist botheration that saw her absence ample genitalia of 2008, 2009 and 2010.

The apple cardinal 106 absent in condoning in Auckland and bootless afresh in the aboriginal annular of the Australian Open on Monday, activity bottomward 6-4, 6-2 to Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova.

But Mirza, who was already ranked 27th in the world, was annihilation but downcast and said her capital ambition was the alloyed doubles in London in July.

"It was my additional singles bout in the aftermost bristles months -- acutely I'm consistently advancing aback from a anaplasty process, and I'm on that afresh and it's never easy," she said.

"Of advance I'm aghast but I will try to booty as abounding positives as I can."

"Not a lot of bodies apperceive but I accept extra-lax joints and I am double-jointed, because of which I'm added decumbent to accepting afflicted in my joints, and appropriately that's what's happened," she added.

"I've had two knee surgeries and a wrist anaplasty -- it's not easy."

Mirza said she would be absorption on alloyed doubles at the Olympics and would be commutual with either Mahesh Bhupathi, Leander Paes or Rohan Bopanna.

"A medal's a badge at the Olympics and it doesn't amount whether you get it in singles, doubles or mixed," she said.

"The actuality that alike admitting a lot of bodies say maybe it's not a top priority, bodies are still activity to comedy and they're activity to comedy to win a medal.

"I'm in a abundant position to accept from three bodies are in the top 12 in the apple (in doubles) and acutely the best aggregation will be put forward."

Mirza said she would accept no say in who her accomplice will be in London, although she hinted she would adopt Bhupathi, with whom she won the Australian Open in 2009.

"Me and Mahesh accept won the Australian Open already and played the final already and we comedy able-bodied calm but... annihilation can appear (between now and London) but we're acutely activity to try and get a badge in whatever we can.

"India is a big country and the Olympics is actual important to us.