Awards are nothing new for tennis star leander Paes but the Padma Bhushan has rejuvenated his passion for the game. In a freewheeling chat with Divya Kaushik, the 40-year-old former India Davis Cup captain revealed his plans to come up with a tennis academy to produce world champions, his penchant for creativity and why tennis, too, needs the IPl model
If humility needed a garb for a day, it would have easily chosen to be leander Paes. India’s most successful tennis player who achieved domination in the Davis Cup doubles with Mahesh Bhupathi, won medals at the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games, has also remained the country’s only tennis medallist at the Olympics (bronze at Atlanta 1996). Age is just a number for this
40-year-old player who feels there’s still a long way to go and for many years in future he will play with same zeal and passion as he did on day one.
Meet him and you will realise that his passion is infectious. It is not only about sports but everything he does. He plays music, brainstorms to come up with brilliant business ideas and spends time understanding the process of making films. His stint with acting in Rajdhani Express denoted his love for films. Perfection, he believes, is achieved through a balance between mind, body and soul. He works with a team of people who share this passion for perfection. He owes his success to his team and specially to his father.
After attaining heights in sports arena and winning many awards, leander has set his eyes on winning a medal at the Olympics in Rio in 2016. Excerpts from an interview:
When you look back at your career what do you tell yourselfIJ Do you think it could have been betterIJ
The entire journey is the most beautiful part of my life. The sadness of losing something or not achieving something happens in everyone’s career. The euphoria of winning a Grand Slam or Olympics on a global scale is so high. In any career the graph goes up and down and these highs and lows have been the most enjoyable part for me. I started off as a young boy in Calcutta who had a dream. To start off that dream, a career with no guarantee — I had no guarantee that I would be a professional, there was no guarantee that I would earn a living, no guarantee that I would get injured and recover — and continue non-stop focussing on what I want to achieve is something I cherish. But when I look back I smile to myself and say, ‘It’s been so much fun’.
You mentioned that there is no dearth of talent in this country but players’ fitness is a hurdle in growth…
I think we Indians are very intellectual people. We are very smart. In academics we are very good, we are very good with business, creative writing and other such things. But when it comes to physical power, apart from Punjab, rest of the country is not counted. I mean as Indians we are looked upon as being submissive. When it comes to physical sport like tennis or any other sporting activity we haven’t produced that many world beaters, we haven’t produced that many number ones in the world. So when I am talking about excellence I am talking about very, very high achievements. I am talking about very elite people in the world who can elevate their body, mind and soul to a certain level to play at global level. It’s very important for us to keep on trying to be world beaters in any field.
Why don’t we find another leander in the horizonIJ
There’s always been a gap of seven or eight years in Indian tennis to turn out a good sportsman. I hope that soon there will be one player who can beat all the records that all of us Indians have won.
Are you planning to come up with the tennis academy anytime soonIJ
It’s important to give the youth of the country better opportunities. I am interested in using the knowledge I gained over the years to create opportunities for children in India. Tennis academy is in pipeline and I will come up with it down the track. Platform for the young tennis players has improved a lot in the last 20 years. Number of children playing the game of tennis has improved and I feel really good about that. But my point is that in terms of producing world beaters, in terms of producing champions, there’s a lot of room for improvement. We lose a lot of our talent to Western countries like Spain and America. Youngsters have to go out to Europe to train. In India, we haven’t got one great training academy yet.
Tell us about your realistic training regimen.
To achieve Grand Slams and Olympics of the worlds you need to follow a certain lifestyle. Your environment at home should be conducive to winning all such titles. For me body, mind and soul should work towards one goal and that is excellence. I do a lot of yoga, meditation, cardio work, agility work and gymming. I spend a lot of time with my equipment to make sure that it’s right. I have specific training methods, even in terms of tennis techniques, I have specific methods to attain the goals that I have set for myself. As a professional in any field the focus has to be clear and the homework that we do to achieve our goals has to be definite.
Speed and court coverage are your forte. What techniques do you think you need to improveIJ
I feel that I can so much more improve on my backhand, my topspin backhand in particular, and that’s why I play with partners who generally have good backhands. In doubles, I play with players who could teach me a lot about balance when I want to hit backhand. I am working hard to improve that.
In your career you have had number of double partners. What qualities are non-negotiable in doublesIJ
Faith is the most important. Besides that, one should be a student of the game, student of life and someone who doesn’t have an ego, someone who’s willing to work hard to collectively work towards the goal. Unconditional understanding is very important.
You think tennis needs IPl modelIJ
I definitely think it should start in tennis as well. IPl system is a great system for the promotion of sports. I don’t think that Indian tennis would produce the same quantity in terms of corporate sponsors as IPl did in cricket. The numbers in IPl are mindboggling. In Indian tennis the numbers won’t be as big but it is a great way to bring international talent to the country.
Do you think sports in India is biasedIJ
I don’t think so. It is important for us to learn from games like cricket. I have tremendous respect for the Sunil Gavaskars, Sachin Tendulkars and Virat Kohlis of the world. Also if you look at cricket as a sport, its governing authorities look after it in an excellent way.
Tell us about your childhood.
My childhood was filled with a lot of hard work. I left home when I was 12 years old to pursue my tennis and I gave up a football scholarship to do that. I spent five years in Chennai at the Britannia Amritraj Tennis Academy. When I went to the academy I was the worst player, I had to work really hard and that showed results. When I left after five years I was number one in the world in the juniors. That transformation was huge. When I turned professional I had given up a college in America to turn into a tennis player. I was 17 when I did that and it was a tough move because I didn’t know if it was right or wrong. It took me three years to find my feet in the sports arena. Those were tough three years. I was beaten up by all the players in the world who were much senior, older professionals. But in 1993, I found my way when I turned the corner and started winning matches. Rest is history.
My father has been a real hero in my life. I wouldn’t be half the man I am today without him. He has been such a source of inspiration. He has been a mentor and guide. He is the first person out there when I have lost the match and the last person if I have won the match. His support has been unconditional. His knowledge about sports medicine training, sports professional training, diet, mental strength is so much that I am blessed to have him in my life.
Apart from sports what else interests youIJ
So many things. I am fascinated by creativity therefore I did a movie and recently I finished doing a graphic novel which is very interesting. I enjoy the process of making movies. I love my music, I play every other sport. I do business.
I enjoy spending time with my family. I also have alternative business models like leander Designs. Travelling around the world and using facilities, whether they are college facilities in America or professional facilities in the rest of the world, one has an amazing ability to experience international sports arena.
I think it is important to come back to India and build such facilities so that others when they travel to our country have a brilliant experience.
Connect with fans has been missing, especially in early part of your career. Is that deliberateIJ
I have my own means to connect with my fans. I value them and they mean a lot to me. In this modern age people use Internet and social networking sites to connect but I have trusted media, my friends and camera to stay in touch with my fans. I have always felt that quality is important than quantity and I have maintained that in everything that I do.
You recently received Padma Bhushan, the highest civilian award for distinguished service. What does this honour mean to youIJ
This award is a great rejuvenating factor for the passion of life. last two years have been really hard for me. To be honoured with an award like this rejuvenates my passion for excellence.
I dedicate this award to my parents, to my daughter Ayaana, the team that I have been working with for last 22-23 years and all the fans who have stood by me through thick and thin. My association with people I work matters to me a lot. They have made big difference to my life. This award is an honour to my whole team. The Padma Bhushan is not about one tour final or one tour title or one medal, its about 30 years of hard work that I have put in. It’s about my entire life.
What are your plans for the futureIJ
I have been working on a lot of things. My main goal is to get to the next Olympics in Rio in 2016. I have a lot of work to do before that. I don’t want to go there to represent India, I want to go there to win. I have already won Olympic medal in singles, to get one in doubles will be great.