Paes’ focus: Bengal Tennis and 2012 Olympics
To overcome the current lull in tennis in the Bengal region, the Bengal Tennis Association (BTA) have roped in Leander Paes as one of their seven VPs. Paes will leverage his experience and exposure at the international level for long term planning to develop talent and bringing quality tennis tournaments to the region (an International Legends event). Having grown up in Kolkata, Paes is keen to contribute to Bengal Tennis, and has explicitly communicated that he has no plans of getting involved in national-level administration with the AITA.
In an interview with Times of India, Paes also said that he has no immediate plans of retiring and the 2012 Olympics are on his radar. He has represented India in five Olympic Games and hopes to match Randhir Singh’s Indian record of six. Paes will be 39 then, but his partnership with Bhupathi remains India’s best bet for a medal in tennis at the Games in London.
Bengal has a rich tennis history and this is a great move. Infact the South Club has a very decent website with pics of some very old Davis cup ties. But coming back to Bengal tennis, this is a great move. The first time a player has got involved in the administration of the game. We know the difference the Amritrajs made when they ran BAT. Sadly they moved on to bigger things in life. But now I am excited about Paes. I hope this is the start of what could lead to a bigger and more active role in Indian tennis for him.
Interestingly, Paes has mentioned at the outset that he is not interested in a larger role with AITA.
The posts of ‘vice president’ in sports associations are ornomental in nature. I wonder if Leander would be able to contribute substantially in this capacity. By and large,Indian players have not been successful administrators. We know how Prakash Padukone was stifled when he tried his hand at administration. Corrupt ploiticians and beurocrats usually have the stranglehold of these bodies.