28 days to Tokyo Olympics 2020: Remembering Leander Paes’ bronze medal at 1996 Atlanta Olympics 

An individual medal at the Olympics eluded India for forty-four years(1952-1996). It was, perhaps, destined to continue but belief and grit triumphed on the fateful day in 1996. For 16 years, India had not celebrated an Olympic medal but a certain Leander Paes managed to change that.

Leander Paes did everything he could to earn his medal. Soon after the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Leander Paes believed he could make a difference and four years later, he did. He started training rigorously for the Atlanta Games by missing the Pro Tour to play hard-court tournaments in South America, where the conditions were similar to Atlanta. He also worked on his fitness to make himself ready for long rallies.

Leander Paes was in perfect shape to make a telling mark in Atlanta. That belief accentuated when a young Leander was mesmerized upon seeing his idol Muhammed Ali light the Olympic flame. Something told him, he was in the 'zone' – a most common frame of mind for athletes who are destined to reach great heights.

It was a tough draw in Atlanta. Leander Paes was set to meet Pete Sampras in the first round. But as everyone puts it, the stars were aligned perfectly for Leander Paes. Pete Sampras withdrew from the Olympics and was replaced by Richey Reneberg.

He managed to stave off stiff resistance from Reneberg, Thomas Enqvist and 14th seed Renzo Furlan before running into Andre Agassi in the last four.

This is the 1996 Atlanta Olympics Singles podium at @rolandgarros today! @ATPWorldTour @Olympics @AndreAgassi #RG17 pic.twitter.com/5enNe7jMKg

— Leander Paes OLY (@Leander) May 31, 2017

A scare outside the Olympics could not deter Paes

It looked like Leander Paes could do no wrong in Atlanta. However, a bomb explosion at Centennial Park scared Leander Paes. He, along with his team, were inside the park when the bomb went off. Rushing back to the Games Village, Leander Paes managed to get back just in time before authorities shut down everything.

It was a big deal for Leander Paes to gather his thoughts back and get back into the "zone". His determination levels grew and his focus intensified. Propelling into unventured territory, Leander Paes found himself on the cusp of glory.

Andre Agassi proved too hot for Leander. A snapped tendon on his hand did no good either as the Indian went down to the eventual gold medallist.

Until the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, the losing semi-finalists were awarded the bronze medal. However, the rules had changed for the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. A play-off match between the losing semi-finalists decided who won the bronze medal.

Taking care of his wrist by keeping it in a cast for more than a day, Leander prepared himself for the ultimate battle against Fernando Meligeni.

Soon after the match started, the tale looked a little too familiar for India – a case of so near, yet so far.

Fernando Meligeni won the first set, Leander Paes was pushed to the wall and had to save a break-point in the fourth game of the second set. It was the belief and the ‘zone’ that Leander had created that came to his rescue.

He was unstoppable. He won the second set without dropping a game and when he served for the bronze medal at 5-4 in the third set, his hard work had paid off.

Leander proved that it was a case of mind over matter and along with belief and perseverance, a medal in the Olympics, is not elusive.

Basking in glory on that spectacular night in Atlanta in 1996, the Olympic bronze medal gave all Indian athletes hope to go for glory every time they represent the country in the quadrennial event.