#4 Leander Paes - Bronze in Lawn Tennis, 1996 Atlanta
When the Indian team reached Atlanta for the 1996 Olympics, not many would have expected a medal. The reason for this low expectation was the fact that the Indian contingent had returned empty-handed from the last three Olympics in 1984, 1988 & 1992.
And the medal came from the most unexpected quarters - lawn tennis. Now, tennis is a game where Indians have not done well historically. So, Leander Paes’ achievement to win an Olympics bronze medal in tennis was commendable and ranks highly on great Indian Olympic victories.
Paes, who was 23 years old then, reached the semi-finals in convincing fashion. But in the semis he encountered Andre Agassi, arguably one of the all-time greats. Paes did give a good fight to Agassi going down 6-7, 3-6.
In the bronze medal playoff, Paes’ opponent was Brazil’s Fernando Meligeni. Paes, who lost the first set 3-6, came back strongly to win the next two 6-2, 6-4 and thus giving India its first individual Olympics medal after a gap of 44 years.
