When you come across rare talents, you naturally take notice. Leander Paes was a rare talent and I sensed it the first time I saw him.
By the time I saw him, he was already considered one with a bright future and tipped to bring laurels to the country. He was a junior Wimbledon champion and making a lot of headlines. I think I first saw him at the Davis Cup camp in 1990-91. He seemed very energetic and enthusiastic. I remembered he never used to get tired in practice, and kept striking the ball hard for hours. I knew at once he was special.
He was the junior-most player in the side, but gelled very well with us. He always respected us and sought tips and talked a lot about the game, which he sometimes does even now. We knew he would one day become a great player. And he has been proving us right for all these years.
Later, when I was the coach of the Davis Cup team, I noticed his passion whenever he represented the country. He was all fired up and eager, and often he gave more than 100 per cent for his country. It was quite a sight, him playing in the Davis Cup, all fire and brimstone.
I have especially fond memories of the tie against France in 1993, where he was just brilliant. Also, our run in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, where we made it to the quarterfinals in the doubles, was memorable. Next Olympics, he won bronze in singles.
That he lasted more than two decades in such a gruelling sport itself is a reminder of his sustained quality. He has achieved most things in a doubles career. When you age, it is tough to keep yourself fit and motivated, but at 40, he still seems hungry. Not everybody plays till this age, let alone winning titles. And he is playing fantastically well. Like all good players, he has evolved over these years. Naturally, his game has also undergone changes, but somehow he reprises the same enthusiasm on the court.
From here on, it’s totally up to him to chart out his career. He might take tournament-by-tournament or season-by-season. At this age, you don’t really look too far ahead.
All this while, we have remained very close. We meet up as and when we can. Of course, his travelling schedule has cut down the frequency of our meetings, but whenever he comes to Chennai, we never miss out on catching up.
His perseverance and positivity stood out
When Leander Paes first came to the Britannia Academy, of which I was the administrator, he was just like any other 12-year-old. He was one among the 12-14 boys we had here, and it was Anand (Amritraj) who spotted him during a camp and urged his father to take him down to Chennai.
I was close to all the boys and we were quite a close-knit unit. I always ensured that they didn’t miss their home and devoted personal attention on each one of them. So naturally, I was close to Leander. One thing I noticed then was his pleasing manners, and he was extremely well behaved and disciplined. We never had a problem with him at the Academy.
It was a formative stage for young Leander, and he took to the course very positively. Then we had two American coaches and they were taskmasters. There were times I felt sorry for the boys, but they knew it was for their own good. Appreciably, Leander never complained about anything and worked really, really hard. He was always obsessed with the game. He is what he is now because of the intensive training we gave him at the Academy. It was a joy to see him grow, and that too rapidly.
On a personal note, he used to come with us to the church. And he was very religious right from those days. In fact, we did his first holy communion, and I don’t remember him missing a single Sunday mass. Hence, the stay here was good on academic and religious fronts as well. He was a bright student, too, and we generally ensured that their academics weren’t affected by training.
When his career took off, he left the Academy. Now I feel happy that he has achieved so much in his career. I feel proud, too, for this is where he started his career.
But at the same time, I feel a little aggrieved that he has never mentioned anywhere about the Academy, despite it moulding his career, after he left this place. He has never spoken to me after that. Then, once you become famous and glamorous, you are naturally busy and may not have time to tend to these things. To keep in touch with someone is a purely personal thing and you have to respect that. But I was glad to hear that he enquired about me when he was on the hospital bed fighting neurocysticercosis. He is basically a good boy.