Shocked at the way Lakshya Sen succumbed to pressure in the men's singles badminton bronze medal play-off at the Paris Olympics, the legendary Prakash Padukone said it's high time players learn to withstand pressure, become accountable and start delivering results after receiving support.
World No 5 Rafael Nadal has ruled out joining forces with Indian tennis great Leander Paes 'anytime soon', insisting that he is focusing entirely on the singles event.
'Receiving this honour culminates a professional journey of a lifetime, standing on the shoulders of greats and sets the tone for other youngsters in Asia and around the world.'
India's first and only tennis medal in the history of Olympic Games came way back in 1996, when Leander Paes claimed the singles bronze in Atlanta.
'Even at 42, Leander's ball skills, his reflexes at the net, the hand-eye coordination... nothing has diminished. In fact, he is as good as he's ever been.'
The Indian tennis ace hoped to come back on court within two to three weeks.
'He will always be an enigma.' 'But it's because of players like him that some people still watch doubles matches.'
India's best chances of a medal was in the mixed doubles in which Leander Paes is expected to partner Sania Mirza.
Reader Hemant sent us these pictures from the USA.
Veteran star Leander Paes is set to combine with Rohan Bopanna for the doubles rubber during the Davis Cup tie against Serbia, Indian captain Anand Amritraj confirmed today but he says nothing has been decided on the Asian Games squad as yet.
Veteran Leander Paes was, on Tuesday, dropped from the Indian Davis Cup squad for the World Group away tie against Serbia scheduled from September 14 to 16.
The seventh seeded Indo-Swiss pair turned back the clock to serve past third seeds Daniel Nestor and Kristina Mladenovic 6-4, 6-3 in 62 minutes at the Rod Laver Arena.
Rohan Bopanna and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden sailed into the men's doubles final at the Miami Open.
India's tennis campaign at the Paris Olympics lasted just a day as Sumit Nagal and the men's doubles pair of Rohan Bopanna and N Sriram Balaji bowed out after losing their respective opening matches to French challengers in Paris Sunday.
From 11-year-old to 60-plus, Olympics is playground for all
Balaji also showed that he can quickly adapt to conditions when he was asked to do the singles duty during the Davis Cup tie against Pakistan on grass. The rival was not of the highest quality but Balaji showed that he was willing to come out of his comfort zone if the team demands.
Tennis legend Martina Navratilova, on Friday, described multiple Grand Slam winner Leander Paes as her 'favourite' mixed doubles partner.
Shubman Gill shared a picture with ace Ttennis star Rohan Bopanna on Saturday.
The ATP Tour brought the world number ones for a short conversation as they prepared for the prestigious tournament.
Paes was dropped from the tie against Uzbekistan last April. He has been out of favour since the Bengaluru fiasco when he was not included in the starting line-up by captain, Mahesh Bhupathi.
Both Balaji and Bhambri have got some decent results on clay in lead up to the Roland Garros, where the action will unfold during the Summer Olympics from July 27.
Former doubles world No. 1 Leander Paes was recently elected to receive the Ultimate Honour in Tennis - induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame - as the Class of 2024.
Reader Rudra Ghosh sent us this photograph from California.
Martina Navratilova transformed Paes into a fitness freak.
Reader Bhupen Parikh spotted Leander Paes in Melbourne.
Reader Suyash Singh met Indian tennis ace Leander Paes in Madrid.
Leander Paes created history on Saturday, becoming the first Indian to complete a career Grand Slam by winning the Australian Open men's doubles title with Radek Stepanek.
Few Indian players can handle the media as well as Leander Paes does. And at 36, he is not getting any younger. Asked if he intended to play at the next Olympic Games in London, Leander nodded his head in agreement.
Reader Lakshminarayanan Devarajan sent us this picture from London.
The Indian tennis ace said he would not return to the court before the Australian Open next year.
He hopes to be fit in time for the year-end Tennis Masters Cup, beginning November 10, his father, Dr Vece Paes, said.
Leander's father said tennis legend Martina Navratilova has rekindled his son's zest for the game.\n\n
The cricketing extravaganza became a business opportunity for everyone, from five-star hotels to cafes to street vendors across the country on Sunday.
Reader Rohit Kumar spotted Indian tennis star Leander Paes in Bangalore.
With India's recent Davis Cup triumph against Chinese Taipei coming without the experience of the stalwarts like Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, Somdev Devvarman, the country's No 1 singles player, feels it is time the focus shifts from the veteran duo to youngsters.
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