New Delhi [India], April 2 (ANI): Olympic medalist and former ace tennis star Leander Paes on Thursday expressed his ambition to serve the nation and empower the youth after he formally entered the political enviornment, becoming a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday.
In a self-made video shared on X, Paes mirrored on his journey from the streets of Kolkata to the worldwide tennis stage, saying, ‘In the early a part of my life, I studied at La Martiniere Kolkata. I discovered my tennis at South Club and my baba performed area hockey for Mohun Bagan within the Maidan of Kolkata. That’s the place I discovered my ardour to play for our folks, the spirit for the Tiranga.’
Paes recounted his transfer to Madras (now Chennai) in 1986 to additional his research at Madras Christian College, whereas honing his tennis expertise.
‘On the twelfth of May, 1986, I moved to Madras, furthering my research on the Madras Christian College and honing my expertise as a tennis participant. I grew up enjoying gully cricket and gully soccer within the streets of India and from there I labored my means into the Royal Box of Wimbledon and into the International Tennis Hall of Fame,’ he added.
Expressing gratitude to the Prime Minister, Paes stated, ‘It is my luck that I get the chance to work underneath the management of Shri Narendra Modi ji at present. I’m grateful to him for this. I consider the time is true for folks like myself to take place to serve our folks, to empower the youth, to create alternatives for them. I really feel it’s time to take Bharat and India and make it a superpower. Jai Hind, Jai Bharat.’
https://x.com/leander/status/2039531739316642088
The tennis legend Leander Paes, who nonetheless holds the crown as India’s most profitable tennis participant and has loved unprecedented success on the court docket, beforehand made his political debut by becoming a member of the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) in Goa in 2021.
His transfer into becoming a member of BJP comes forward of the upcoming electoral season, marking a brand new chapter in his profession.
Meanwhile, Paes met Prime Minister Narendra Modi a day after becoming a member of the get together, who welcomed him warmly, writing on X, ‘Had an awesome assembly with Leander Paes. India may be very happy with his accomplishments in tennis. We mentioned a variety of points. His ardour in direction of sports activities and nation-building is really admirable.’
Union Ministers Kiren Rijiju and Sukanta Majumdar had been current throughout Paes’ induction into the BJP.
After becoming a member of the BJP, the tennis ace expressed his gratitude for the brand new platform, saying, ‘Today is an enormous day in my life. I wish to thank the PM, HM, and Nitin Nabin ji. I’m actually grateful for the way in which the BJP has given me this chance to serve sports activities, sports activities schooling, and the youth.’
Crediting the management for the nation’s sporting progress, Leander Paes Kehlo additional stated, ‘I performed for the nation for 40 years, now it is time to serve the youth. Kehlo India Movement and the TOPS scheme are actually nice. I understand how a lot ardour Kiren Rijijiu ji has labored in direction of our contingent’s efficiency within the Tokyo Olympics. He fulfilled his duty given to him by the PM. Today, India is the youngest nation on the planet. We ought to give attention to sports activities schooling within the subsequent 20-25 years. In 1986, in West Bengal, there was not a lot sports activities infrastructure. Even at present, there is no such thing as a indoor tennis court docket within the nation. Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Bihar can do higher, however we have to give attention to inspiring and empowering youth in sports activities schooling…My dream is to carry a program for equal alternative scholarship for girls empowerment in India.
Paes, India’s most embellished tennis participant, has acquired quite a few accolades, together with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 1996-97, the Arjuna Award in 1990, the Padma Shri in 2001, and the Padma Bhushan in 2014. (ANI)