Anand Mahindra lauds Leander Paes as he gets inducted to Tennis Hall of Fame: ‘Indian sporting HERO’

Anand Mahindra, the Mahindra Group Chairman, on Saturdaypraised Indian tennis player Leander Paes after the latter, along with Vijay Amritraj, made history by becoming the first Asian men to be inducted into the prestigious International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Taking to social media platform X (formerly Twitter), the business tycoon stated, “And THAT is how to be an Indian sporting Hero…”. Anand Mahindra re-posted the one-minute thirty-second video, which was a treat to the eye as Martina Navratilova inducted Leander Paes, marking a landmark event and historic moment for India. Both players gracefully raised the Tricolour flag high at the event as they were formally inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Leander Paes delivered a terrific acceptance speech at Newport, Rhode Island, when he was inducted along with Vijay Amritraj. The Padma Bhushan tennis superstar was emotionally touched when his 18-year-old daughter Aiyana presented the induction. “We use the sport of tennis to inspire 250 million children across the world over the next fifteen years,” Leander Paes said.

The 51-year-old Kolkata boy hailed his father during his address and said, It is my greatest honour to be on this stage, playing for 1.4 billion people could either be pressure or it could be wind within your wings." The former Davis Cup team captain further mentioned, “My dad is my hero, best friend, guiding light, North Star.”

Netizens were strong to react to this post as many congratulated the sports legend while others were full of praise for the athlete. A user stated, “He is one True Athlete.” Another user suggested, “He deserves Bharat Ratna.”

A third user remarked, “It's our honour to hear his words as we feel great enthusiasm to see when he was playing for our country.” A fourth user commented, “ Incredible achievement...If his partnership with Bhupathi not parted away it would be a completely different story in Mens Double Tennis.”

A fifth user tweeted, “ I saw his match almost like he would have won against Agassi in the Olympics, but unfortunately Agassi played great tennis then he won, but Paes won the bronze medal, that is more than gold for India.”