Sania Mirza bowled over by Shoaib Akhtar

CHANDIGARH: Shoaib Akhtar may not have set alight the cricket series yet but the Pakistani speedster has already won an admirer in tennis ace Sania Mirza.
    
Sania, in the city to watch the second Indo-Pak one day cricket match at Mohali on Thursday, said she liked Shoaib Malik and Shahid Afridi as well but the 'Rawalpindi express' stood apart because of his aggression.
    
"Shoaib Malik is good and I also liked Afridi for a while. But personally, I like Shoaib's (Akhtar) aggression. He is a great cricketer," Sania said at the Chandigarh Lawn Tennis Association (CLTA) stadium here on Wednesday.
    
The Hyderabadi said it would be her first India-Pakistan ODI on Wednesday.
    
"The last one I watched was between India and New Zealand at Hyderabad," said Sania, whose father and some friends are accompanying her.
    
Sania, who spent the last weekend in Goa trying to relax during the off season, said she would re-start training at the end of this month.
    
"I am trying to relax during the off-season," she said, adding coming back from injury takes a lot of physical and mental effort.
    
Sania cut short her assignments after pulling a stomach muscle in Japan last month but is expected to be ready to play in the Hopman Cup in Perth from December 30.
    
Sania, currently ranked 32, said she was constantly trying to improve it.
    
"Though being number 32 in the world is not bad, but I am working hard. Maybe some day I will be there (in the top league)," she said.
    
The tennis ace also said that she would do her best to win a medal in the Beijing Olympics next year.
    
"I have never played in the Olympics. It's going to be my first Olympic Games and also my first event in China, where I have not played earlier," she said.
    
Asked about her memories of playing at the CLTA, Sania said it has been around six years when she last played here.
    
"I remember that I was playing in the under-18 semi-final match when I sustained a knee injury. The scar is still there, but I went on to win that semis after being down 2-5 in the second set and eventually won the final as well," she said.
    
Earlier on her arrival at the CLTA, Sania interacted with the budding tennis players.
    
Sania told them that she felt good to see so many kids playing at the academy.
    
"There is a thin line between being positive and putting pressure on yourself," she said, asking the kids to enjoy their game.