Shikha to play for India

MUMBAI: Shikha Uberoi is doing a Swades kind of thing. The US bred tennis player, whose smiling, strokeful performance against Venus Williams at the US Open ratcheted her up into the limelight, will play for India from next year.
"I was born in India and this would be a good time to play for the country," the 21-year-old, Florida-based Shikha, ranked 158 in the world, told ToI in Mumbai on Thursday."My game has developed and I am ready for the challenge."
Shikha''s younger sister Neha, 18, is also thinking of donning Indian colours, though only from 2006. Unlike Shikha, Neha was born in the US.
Mahesh Uberoi, the girls'' father and brother of actor Suresh Oberoi, said: "There are benefits of having an American passport. You don''t need a visa for many countries, for example. Playing for India would mean giving up those benefits. But you cannot have your cake and eat it too."
Anil Khanna, All India Tennis Association (AITA) honourary general secretary, welcomed Shikha aboard. "We did well in the Fed Cup last year with Sania Mirza, Ankita Bhambri and Isha Lakhani," Khanna said from Delhi. "Shikha will strengthen the team."
When Sunita Rao, another US player of Indian origin, was thinking of playing for India, her father had asked the AITA for compensation. Was Shikha was being paid for the switch? "No," Khanna said. "We haven''t discussed anything."
Shikha said that she and the likes of Sania, Isha and Ankita could take Indian women''s tennis ahead. "There is a great opportunity for us girls," she said. "We can do a lot."
At the US Open, Shikha had tested Venus in a prime time contest in Arthur Ashe stadium before losing 7-5 6-1. Asked how life had changed for her after the match, she said: "It hasn''t, though the perception was that it would. People know me a little more but I still have to work. The good thing is that it has motivated me to achieve more."
Tennis has high-profile sibling sets like the Williams sisters and the Bryan twins (Mike and Bob). Did Shikha and Neha learn from their examples?
"We can relate to them," says Neha. "Playing each other is as nerve-wracking and emotional for us as it is for Venus and Serena. The unfortunate thing is that people sometimes ask if the result of our matches is arranged."
Says Shikha: "There are a lot of positives. The Williams sisters once rightly said that they wouldn''t have been as good without each other. The circuit is lonely and a sister''s company is a boon."