Tennis legend Leander Paes's bronze medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics is cherished as one of India's most significant podium finishes in the history of the Games. Not only did it end the country's 44-year wait for another individual Olympic medal but to date remains India's only tennis triumph in Olympic history.
KD Jadhav was the last Indian athlete before Paes to win an individual Olympic medal. The wrestling great finished third in 1952.
Paes's was India's only medal of the 1996 edition of the Games and the first since the men's hockey team's gold in 1980.
Paes, who got a wildcard entry to the 1996 Olympics, faced a steep challenge in the semifinal against the eventual gold medallist Andre Agassi. He gave the American a tough fight in the first set before losing it 6-7 and then went down in the second 3-6 to lose the match.
In the bronze-medal match, Paes faced Brazil’s Fernando Meligeni.
The Indian lost the first set 3-6 and was staring down the barrel facing a break-point when he started turning the tables on the Brazilian.
Paes ended up winning 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 to clinch a historic medal.
"After losing the first set and when I was serving at 1-2 and 30-40 in the second set, something magical happened," Paes said in an interview to Olympics.com. "I got into what we athletes call ‘the zone’ where you don’t really remember what happened for that 45-minute period."
But before his third-place playoff match, Paes, who was ranked 126 before entering the Olympics draw, had an injury concern and his wrist was placed in a hard cast for the ruptured tendons to heal in time for one of the most important matches of his career.
However, Paes's resolve and grit ended up being bigger than the injury.
"I don’t even remember the points because I was in such a trance. That's why I talk about a mystical and magical experience,” said Paes about his match at the Stone Mountain Tennis Center.
The medal was an addition to the family's illustrious showcase, as Leander's bronze gave company to his dad Vece Paes's bronze, which he won as part of India's 1972 Olympics hockey team.
