The Hindu : Sania under quarantine for not taking 'yellow shot'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 11, 2003

Sport

Sport - Tennis

Sania under quarantine for not taking 'yellow shot'

New Delhi March 10 India's promising tennis talent Sania Mirza has been placed under quarantine at the Mumbai airport on her return from a tournament in Nigeria as she had not taken vaccination against yellow fever before her departure for the African nation.

As a result, the Busan Asiad mixed doubles bronze medallist will not be able to join the junior Indian team for the Malaysian leg of four Grade 1 tournaments beginning March 16. She will now join the team for the last three weeks in Thailand, Phillipines and Japan.

As per UN health laws, India has made it mandatory for those visiting most countries in Africa, where yellow fever is prevalent, to take the `yellow shot'. Even the Indian cricket team and journalists covering the World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya had taken the vaccination prior to their departure.

However, the 16-year old Sania did not take the shot and has been placed under observation in Mumbai for a week.

A top All India Tennis Association (AITA) official here confirmed the incident and said this was probably due to a communication gap.

The Nigerian Government has an embassy in the country only in Delhi and Sania's travel agent apparently had failed to inform her of the vaccination, the AITA official said.

Officials said Sania is in good health and she has reported no infection so far and her parents are with her. Assuming that she does not develop any complication, she will be discharged in two days, they said.

Doctors said if she had contracted the disease, she could be forced to stay away from the game for three months.

Sania won two back-to-back $10,000 ITF titles in Benin City, Nigeria, which improved her total career titles to five including the three that she won last year — one in Hyderabad and two in Phillipines.

The `yellow shot' episode may also force Sania to skip the ITF Futures tournaments at home as the dates of those events clash with Japan leg which she had not planned to play before.

— PTI

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