Leander Paes And Vijay Amritraj
India’s great tennis players Leander Paes and Vijay Amritraj have been inducted into the ‘Tennis Hall of Fame’. Both of them have become the first two Asian players to be included in this list. The biggest achievement of Paes’ career has been winning the bronze medal in the Atlanta Olympics 1996. He has won a total of 18 Grand Slam titles for India. Apart from this, he has been a part of many memorable Davis Cup victories of India. Amritraj reached the men’s singles quarter-finals twice in Wimbledon and US Open. This 70-year-old player has taken India to the Davis Cup finals twice in 1974 and 1987. At the peak of his game, he was ranked 18th in the singles ranking and 23rd in the doubles ranking.
Paes participated in 7 consecutive Olympics
According to a statement issued by the International Tennis Hall of Fame, Leander Paes has been inducted in the ‘Player Category’, while Vijay Amritraj and Evans have been inducted in the ‘Contributors Category’. The Hall of Fame honours the visionary leaders of the sport or individuals who have had a major impact on the sport. After these three made it to the Hall of Fame, a total of 267 legends from 28 countries have now been inducted into this list. Leander Paes spent 37 weeks at number one in the world rankings in doubles and won 54 doubles titles. He participated in 7 consecutive Olympics, which is a record.
Leander Paes said this
Leander Paes said that some of us are lucky to have received this honour. I never imagined in my childhood when I played cricket and football barefoot in Kolkata that I would be included in the International Tennis Hall of Fame. He said that I am very excited to share this news with all of you. I represent every young boy and girl around the world who has a dream and passion to achieve something.
He has been a part of the Indian team that reached the Davis Cup finals
Vijay Amritraj came on the ATP Tour in 1970. He was a key player in India’s Davis Cup team for the next several years. Amritraj was a key member of two Indian teams that qualified for the Davis Cup final. He was part of the team that decided not to play against South Africa in 1974 due to the country’s apartheid policy. Under his presence, the team also reached the final in 1987, but had to face defeat against Sweden. He said that I cannot thank my fellow Indians in India and around the world enough. You welcomed me in your homes, from big cities to small towns and your development was my development along with the development of India. You shared my joys and sorrows with me.
(Input: PTI)
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