*LEANDER PAES :A warrior*

When the USSR was intact, India still a few days away from being a liberalised economy, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s record-breaking Terminator 2 was waiting to be released and Brazil had achieved only three of its five FIFA World Cup triumphs, Leander Paes was already up and running in the world of professional tennis, as a sprightly teenager. It was 1991, and the junior US Open and Wimbledon champion had just turned pro.

What a long, strange trip it’s been! In that time, Paes became (and still is) the only Indian Olympic medallist in tennis, one of the few from the country to win an ATP singles event (Newport, 1998), clinched 18 Grand Slam titles and became the most successful doubles player ever in the Davis Cup.

His journey has been unfathomable.