Leander Paes, an iconic figure in the world of tennis, recently sat down for an exclusive interview with us on the sidelines of his induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame Class of 2024. With a career that spans over three decades, Paes has achieved remarkable milestones, including his historic bronze medal win at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
In this conversation, Paes reflects on his illustrious journey, the lessons learned from mentors like Vijay Amritraj and Richard Evans, and the significance of his latest honor. Join us as we delve into the inspiring story of one of tennis’s greatest champions and his enduring legacy in the sport.
Harini – It’s a pleasure to meet you. You remain the last Indian to win an ATP Tour level singles title. That coincidentally came at the Hall of Fame Open in Newport in 1998. And now you’re becoming the first Asian men alongside Mr. Amritraj to be inducted into the prestigious Hall of Fame. How does it feel?
Paes – It’s my greatest honor to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, the first Indian, the first Asian man in the player category. It is such a delight to look at two of the gentlemen that I looked up to, Mr. Richard Evans and Vijay Amritraj – two men who inspired me over the years and who have encouraged me over the years.
The Amritraj Academy was where I grew up learning my tennis. I have tremendous gratitude for Mrs. Maggie Amitraj and Mr. Amritraj for guiding me through my junior career. And also, when you look at me, I’m an Indian kid who grew up playing gully cricket and gully football barefoot in Calcutta.
To stand here today with this amazing honor to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, it’s literally the ultimate honor. And not just do I represent myself, not just do I represent my family, not just do I represent tennis in India, but I represent 1.4 billion Indians.
And I want to inspire all the young children that if I can come from playing gully cricket, gully football to getting inducted into the Hall of Fame, then any kid with passion in their hearts and a lot of hard work and dedication and belief in themselves can also become champions.
Harini – With the Olympics round the corner, your historic Olympics Singles Bronze is a memory everyone loves to recollect. What are your expectations from our tennis contingent in Paris?
Paes – I wish the entire Indian Olympic contingent good luck. For all the boys and girls out there representing our country and our flag, we are all behind you.
Just as I’ve played in seven Olympics and felt some of the pressure of playing for India or as you get closer to the podium matches, the pressure mounts. But for every single athlete out there, we’ve got the whole country behind you.
All of us are praying for you, wishing you well and hopefully you can use our strength and support as wind within your wings to fly high and do our country proud. So for every one of those athletes out there, Godspeed, God bless, we’re all with you.
Harini – Indian Tennis is going though a peak in the last year or so – with Rohan Bopanna breaking one record after the other in doubles and Sumit Nagal doing so in singles. What are your thoughts on both of them?
Paes – It’s wonderful to see Sumit persevering through his career. He has improved tremendously in the last 12 months or so. It’s such a wonderful representation to have a young Indian boy playing in the singles at the Olympics.
On that, to see his Rohan win his first (Men’s Doubles) Grand Slam. I’ve always said that Rohan is one of the most talented players to have never won a Grand Slam. Now that he’s won his first Men’s Doubles Grand Slam, it is very befitting to the talent that he has. He’s got a phenomenal partner in Matthew Ebden, who was my last doubles partner when I was playing. He’s one of the class doubles players in the world – he’s won Wimbledon before and multiple other Grand Slams. He’s also going to the Olympics with a great thought of winning a medal.
To Rohan and Balaji – all the very best. We’re all behind you and will be supporting you. It’ll be phenomenal to see India coming back with an Olympic medal in Tennis and also in other sports.
Harini – The Doubles Dream of India project – how do you perceive its impact in the Indian Tennis ecosystem?
Paes – I’ve seen it a little about the doubles dream project. I’ve seen a few of the social media posts about the fitness and running they do. I always believe in the idea of encouraging talent. To learn from Cricket, they’re doing such an amazing job to support the IPL players for example, and even the India A team, the Under 19 team, and so on.
Think of how many players play in the Ranji Trophy, how many play in the different age groups, etc. The grassroots level is focused on so much. It’s a massive number of young boys and girls that are playing Cricket in the country. It’s a great example to learn from. Parents need to realise that sport is a vehicle to earn a living, to get a job, to get scholarships into college and get a good education. Sport is also a great way to empower young women. I’m all for supporting athletes around the world!
Picture Credits – Surya Rajendhiran / Priyan Rajendhiran (Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/sr28_sports/)