Sania, Sunitha named in Olympics doubles draw

New Delhi: India's Sania Mirza and Sunitha Rao will compete in women's doubles event of the Beijing Olympics as the International Tennis Federation included the pair in the direct acceptance list for the mega-event announced on Wednesday.

Sania will also compete in the singles event while Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi will lead India's challenge in men's doubles, according to the ITF list announced on Wednesday.

Sania moves up in the rankings

Sania Mirza , struggling to recover from a wrist injury, moved one place up to 31 in singles and gained three spots in doubles to be 22 in the latest WTA tennis rankings.

Sania, who withdrew from the on-going Sony Ericsson Open in Miami , made the singles pre-quarterfinal at the Pacific Life Open and reached doubles semi-finals with American partner Bethanie Mattek at the same event.

In men's section, Mahesh Bhupathi continued his rise in the ATP ranking charts and stands 13th with a gain of four spots while his estranged partner Leander Paes dropped to 19, losing two positions.

Worried Sania

Sania Mirza is worried over her recurrent wrist injury as it could either result in a surgery or require her to change her grip and action, an idea she is not keen on at this stage of her career.

Sania, who played in pain before losing to Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia in the fourth round of the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells on Tuesday, said she would try to avoid surgery but is also not keen on changing the way she grips the racket at the crucial stage in her career.

Sania says no to playing in India

"Right now it's very, very painful... I couldn't move my wrist," she said after her 1-6, 6-7 (4/7) loss.

"Usually it doesn't get this sore, so I'm a little worried right now. It gets sore and then it gets OK when I ice it and do whatever I have to do," she told reporters.

Sania, seeking MRI to diagnose the actual problem, said she would look for some other options to cure it.