KOLKATA: Leander Paes is ready to unleash his ‘new version’ when the sport resumes but the veteran tennis star fears that the organisers may not be able to pull off Tokyo Games and the legacy he wants to create by playing his eighth successive Olympics could remain an unrealised dream.
Paes, who turned 47 on Wednesday, had announced that 2020 would be his last seasonand Tokyo Games was expected to be his swansong event but the COVID-19 pandemic upset his plans.
“I’m really concerned about the Olympics because that is relevant to my history, my legacy,” Paes said during a webinar hosted by Indian Chamber of Commerce – Young Leaders Forum.
“I was on a ‘One Last Roar’ season, culminating with the Tokyo Olympics. But now that is pushed back to 2021, with the global economy, also going down, how will those corporate sponsors for the Olympics, still stand their ground to support the Olympics?” he asked.
Without a vaccine to tackle COVID-19, Paes said the future looks gloomy for the Olympics to go ahead even in 2021.
“How will the Japanese sporting governance still be able to conduct the Olympics, especially if it is behind closed doors?,” the most successful doubles player in the history of Davis Cup with 44 wins, asked.
“Where is the revenue coming from, knowing that the stadiums are empty. It’s all an issue that we will face. Sport is such a big business, if you’ve got athletes who are 100 million dollars worth athletes.
“Each of my playing hands is insured for millions and millions. But I’m not allowed to even chop a tomato, unless I do very very cautiously.”
Paes said he has used the COVID-19 triggered lockdown to further re-invent himself.
–PTI.

Press Trust of India