Leander Paes was the guest of honour at the first edition of Manifest Play, a sports marketing awards and summit. Paes became the first Asian to win a tennis medal at the Olympics, when he won Bronze at the Atlanta 1996 Games.

While brands have flocked towards Olympians like Manu Bhaker and PV Sindhu in recent times after their triumphs, Paes stated that there wasn’t ‘much change' after his win in 1996 in terms of brand interest.

“I started my tennis career in 1986. I had to sleep in locker rooms and ride in subways. I have a huge scar on my chest – a result of 23 stitches right next to my heart because I got mugged at Grand Central station in New York. I haven’t celebrated a birthday at home from the age of 12 to 40,” said Paes about his early struggles.

Speaking about his family's sporting legacy, Paes said, "My mother was captain of the Indian basketball team. My dad was the centre half (in Hockey) of the 1972 Olympic team. The Olympics were hosted in Munich and were paused for four days. Civilians were not allowed inside the village and athletes were not allowed outside it. Palestinian terrorists had taken Israeli athletes hostage. I’m not sure what my parents were thinking because I was conceived during that time,” he added.

About the brand interest, he said, “I didn’t play for prize money, brand endorsements or trophies. I played for the country. In the 80s, to win a Grand Slam in India was unthinkable. To win an Olympic medal was equally unimaginable. They questioned my aukaat (status) when I shared my dreams aloud. I wanted to prove that Indians could be world champions in anything we set our minds to."

He added that his favourite words in Hindi are karma (a person's actions in this life influence their future lives or experience) and jugaad (problem-solving innovatively) which also helps Indians succeed.

“How else can a little boy growing up on the streets of Kolkata playing gully cricket and football become a tennis champ? I was a ball boy for the Davis Cup because I wanted to skip school. My best friend Hrishikay (Hrishikesh Kannan of Radio One) gave me his racquet to try out for the tournament (as a player) and told me not to let the ball bounce because I would have no clue how to handle the topspin. That is what has led to my volleying and net play,” he narrated.

Full coverage of Manifest Play, is in our May issue. Get it here.