No need to tell Leander Paes that his bronze medal in men’s tennis was India’s first in a long time. He knew.
“I was really nervous going in this morning,” said Paes, who defeated Fernando Meligeni 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 Saturday. “I guess the 44 years and the 16 years that we haven’t won a medal really has gotten to me. But it took a while to get my nerves out there. And the effort paid off in the end.”
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India won a gold medal in field hockey in the U.S.-boycotted 1980 Moscow Olympics. In 1952, India took a bronze in wrestling.
Asked when he’ll return to India, Paes became a party pooper.
“Everyone’s been on my case to leave (Sunday),” said Paes, who has an apartment in Orlando, but also has a place in Calcutta. “But it’s not good for my tennis right now to go back to India. There will be too many celebrations and that’s not what I need right now.”