Melbourne: Sania Mirza, at the centre of a controversy for reportedly disrespecting the Indian national flag, admitted on Tuesday that she had considered quitting the sport over the row.

“I think a lot of thoughts went through my head in the last couple of weeks,” Sania told reporters.

“One of the thoughts was that, but I wouldn’t say it was serious enough that I am going to quit right now.”

Sania is the subject of a court summons in Bhopal after a private citizen made a complaint under the country’s Prevention of Insult to the National Honour Act.

The controversy surrounds a photograph taken at the Hopman Cup in Perth, played at the beginning of the year, that appeared to show Sania’s bare feet resting near the national flag.

The maximum punishment for the offence is a three-year jail term.

“I just know that I would not do anything to disrespect my country,” she said. “I love my country, I wouldn’t be playing the Hopman Cup otherwise, but besides that I am not allowed to comment.”

Sania admitted, though, that her preparations for the year’s first Grand Slam tournament had been affected by the controversy.

“It’s not easy to deal with things like that off the court,” she said. “Obviously there are some misunderstandings happening. I am not superhuman, so it does affect me a little bit.

“I am not a politician here, to outsmart people and try to fight. That’s not what I am trying to do — I am trying to play tennis, I am 21, and I am trying to do the best I can.