Olympic medalist Leander Paes joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday. The tennis legend, born in West Bengal, aims to enhance sports infrastructure and empower youth ahead of state elections. He cited inspiration from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision.
Leander Paes, the Olympic tennis medallist born in West Bengal, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday, marking a new phase in politics days before the state elections. He expressed inspiration from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision and plans to prioritize sports for youth empowerment.
“I want to focus on sports and on the youth. Ours is a young nation; 74.5 million people are under the age of 26. The focus in the next 20-25 years should be on sports education, sports infrastructure, medicine and architecture,” Paes said.
Paes pointed to the shortage of sports facilities in India, noting there is not a single indoor tennis court in the country—a significant gap in a tropical nation facing rain and high temperatures for months. “When I started playing in 1986 in Bengal, there were no clay courts… the infrastructure has improved, but Bengal can do better,” he added.
Paes won the bronze medal in men’s singles tennis at the Atlanta Olympics on July 29, 1996, ending India’s 44-year Olympic medal drought. He credited Union Minister Kiren Rijiju for inspiring his BJP entry and praised government initiatives like Khelo India for advancing the sports sector.
