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"It is a great honour" EANDER PAES made the year one to remember. The Olympic medal that hung close to his heart on that momentous occasion when he shared the podium with two leading tennis stars, Andre Agassi and Sergi Bruguera, was not just a reward for his hunger for success, but was a timely answer to the prayers of a success-starved nation. Leander's exploits in Atlanta against the odds, in a formidable field, will be etched in memory, for no Indian had won an individual medal in the Olympics for the last 44 years. Incidentally, Japan •was the only other Asian country to have won Olympic medals in tennis, two sil- vers, way back in 1920. There was a hint of things to come, Meligeni in the fight for the bronze song, having the home favourite, when Leander reached his first semi- thereafter was held against him by Andre Agassi, at his mercy for the final in an ATP Tour event, the Miller the ATP Tour, which had different better part of two sets, in the second Lite Hall of Fame Championships at rules to those followed by the round. But he let the big fish escape Newport, Rhode Island, a couple of International Tennis Federation (ITF). his clutches. Earlier, at Wimbledon, weeks before the Olympics. On grass, Leander's ranking thus fell dramati- Leander, who had qualified as the Leander beat former Wimbledon cally from 126 to 150, putting paid to lucky loser, had his chances against champion Pat Cash 6-2, 6-2 in the first his aspirations of cracking the top Mark Petchey, but he tended to over- round and went on to beat the top 100. Moreover, he would have to hit; perhaps he was trying too hard. seeded Byron Black in the quarterfi- endure the 'zero pointer' as his 14th Leander lost a match he could have nals. He was downed by Nicolas best result, till next August. won. Pereira in the semifinal, but Leander The Olympic hero took the setback The year also saw Leander keep the was to have his revenge at the in his stride, and wound up the year Indian flag flying high in the Davis Olympics. with a Challenger victory at Cup when, in partnership with The reaction to Leander's Olympic Mauritius, where, starting as the Mahesh Bhupathi, he overcame the achievement in the country was eighth seed he beat Fabrice Santoro, tough Dutch at Jaipur, to put India in euphoric and presentations were Jeff Tarango, Jerome Golmard, Mark the World Group quarterfinals. The showered on him. However, there Petchey and Frederik Fetterlein. Swedes were too professional to let was a disappointing twist to his for- Leander also had a good run in the Leander's magic work later, but India tunes in the circuit, not just because doubles along with Mahesh as the underdog did make its mark in he suffered from a brief 'burn out' Bhupathi, winning four tournaments, no uncertain terms. syndrome, but also because he was including the one at Chennai, where The year-end ranking of 128 was slapped a 'zero pointer' for missing a he had to be content with the runner- the best for Leander in three years, Challenger immediately after the up spot in singles. bettering his previous two years' Atlanta Games, by the ATP. On the Grand Slam circuit, the long ranking of 132 and 133, though his Leander pulled out of the tourna- felt desire to win at least one round best has been an impressive 111. ment in Binghampton in advance was satiated at the U. S. Open where However, towards the end of the year quoting a genuine injury, after losing Leander quite expectedly beat Leander was downed by typhoid. to Agassi in the Olympics. The fact Marcos Ondruska of South Africa. He It was 'malignant malaria' that that he managed to play Fernando raised hopes further when he was on sapped his energy in December last 38 THESPORTSTAR DECEMBER 28 1996 year. And Leander bounced back Over to Leander: from the sickbed to have one of his Question: Congratulations memorable years. This time too, Leander on a fabulous year and for Leander promised that he would being selected as The Sportstar open the campaign for 1997 in right Sportsperson of the Year. How does earnest once he got rid of the disease. it feel? Leander made light of losing seven Answer: It is a great honour being kilograms in a fortnight, and sum- chosen as The Sportstar's Sportsperson moned enough energy to sit up from of the Year. It is encouraging to know his sick bed for this interview to The that I have been recognised for all the Sportstar. Despite his illness, he spoke hard work that I have put in over the with his usual flair. His father Dr. year. Vece Paes too was helpful. Q: What are the impressions you Leander made one remember his carry about the magazine's support words to The Sportstar, immediately to you, from a fledgling career? after his Olympic triumph. A: It is nice to have been associated "It is amazing what can happen so closely with The Sportstar and its with a little bit of hard work and reporters. I am appreciative of the effort. That has been my whole story support and coverage they have at the Olympics. It is belief, a little given me. My first Sportstar cover was extra belief and a little extra bit of one of my goals as a kid in BAT. That hard work." issue will always hold a special place Leander the person is even better in my heart. than Leander the star for the few who Q: How do you sum up the year? have been lucky enough to interact With a bit of luck you could have with him. He is a role model who can cracked the top 100 in the ATP Tour. be comfortably bracketed with Sachin A: The year 1996 has been one of Tendulkar and Viswanathan Anand. the best years of my cjareer so far. The Doing India proud. Bronze medallist Leander Paes, alongside winner Andre Agassi, on the podium at Atlanta. And predictably, on his return to India soon after the Olympics, Leander received a hero's welcome. EC O THE SPORTSTAR DECEMBER 28 1996 39 (SAIL) on the fourth year of contract and Punwire, on the third year, have been solidly behind me, making it that much easier for me on the tour. Mahindra Ford has come into the pic- ture quite prominently now. The ICI India Limited was the first company to back me and they have been with me from 1991. There have also been people like Naresh Kumar and Yogi Durlabji who have been supporting me all along. I am also grateful to Air India, Williams and Magor, Goodricke, Coca-Cola and a number of others for their faith in me. Q: There was a slump in your form after the Olympics. A: As I said earlier, the reaction to my achievement was so overwhelm- ing that it was necessary to come back to India after Atlanta. All the felicita- tions and various functions threw me off track for some time. It was very important for me to regroup and channel all my thoughts and energy back on the Tour. Q: Your form picked up dramati- cally in the year-end tournament at Mauritius. A: After the Asian circuit I took time off to train and get that fire back in me again. When I got to Reunion Island and Mauritius I had got back into my routine. This enabled me to play simple, sharp tennis with high Leander was featured on The Sportstar Cover for the first time on physical fitness. April 14, 1990. "My first Sportstar Cover was one of my goals as a Q: What was your target for the kid in BAT. That issue will always hold a special place in my year? heart," says the tennis star. A: My target for 1996 was to keep India in the World Group in Davis Olympics was the highlight, closely would you put that achievement? Cup. On the ATP Tour I wanted to followed by reaching the Davis Cup A: The Olympic medal is one of my improve my singles and doubles quarterfinals. The year on the circuit most prized possessions and also one ranking and make it to the top 75. As has been decent and I would have of my best achievements. We Indians far as the Olympics was concerned, I been in the top 100 now, had it not are brought up to believe that the wanted to perform creditably. been for the 'zero pointer' that I Olympics is the pinnacle of sporting Basically, I wanted to stay healthy received because of the Olympics. competition. My father had an and injury-free. Coming to my game, Q: The 'zero pointer', mainly Olympic bronze and the previous I was keen to improve my first serve because of the confusion caused by individual Olympic medal won by an percentage and my return of serve. the contrasting rules of ATP and Indian was in 1952. All of this made Q: The year also saw you reach ITF, will be with you for the better my achievement special. Besides, it your first semifinal in an ATP Tour part of next year. was inspiring to watch the wonderful event. How did it feel then to strug- A: Absolutely. The 'zero pointer' response of the nation and its sports gle in the Challengers? will be with me as my 14th best result lovers to my feat.