Sports ran in his family. His father, Vece, was a midfield ace in the Indian hockey squad that got home a bronze from the 1972 Munich Olympics. His mother, Jennifer, captained the Indian basketball team at the 1980 Asian Basketball Championships. Leander Paes, naturally, had to be an athlete.The leaning towards sports was visible quite early. “His appetite (for sports) was so much that he could not concentrate on anything else. He was quite naughty too,” his mother was quoted as saying once.Leander used to accompany his father to hockey matches at the nearby Mohun Bagan ground in Kolkata. He also picked up basketball skills by watching his mother. But it was at the Kolkata South Club tennis courts that everyone took note of his racquet-wielding skills. The doting parents promptly sent him to the best place in India at the time, the Britania Tennis Academy in Chennai, to hone his tennis skills. The rest, as they say, is history.From winning the junior Wimbledon crown in 1990, to topping the junior world rankings, to graduating to the senior circuit and reaching the doubles quarterfinals at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, to winning India’s first-ever individual medal in tennis (bronze at Atlanta 1996), to ruling the doubles circuit along with Mahesh Bhupathi from 1998 to 2002, to carrying India’s Davis Cup hopes single-handedly for more than a decade, he has done it all.Yet, despite having been there and done that for more than two decades now since turning pro in 1991, he now faces perhaps the toughest test of his career. Five days from now, the 30th Olympiad begins in London, and once again, Leander is one of India’s realistic hopes to land a medal, in mixed doubles at least, if not in doubles. And he has to do that with a ‘reluctant’ partner.Sania Mirza, who has been forced to team up with the 39-year-old Paes in the mixed event at the Games, was keen to partner his estranged partner Mahesh Bhupathi instead. But thanks to the sordid saga of ego clashes preceding the tennis team’s selection, what with Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna both refusing to partner Paes in doubles, she was, in her own words, “used as a pawn” to barter peace between the warring sides. But though she expressed her anguish in no uncertain terms, she was gracious and mature enough to accept the ‘arrangement’ in the best interests of the country.One good thing about the pairing is that their games complement each other. While Sania’s big strength is her fierce forehand from the back of the court, Paes’ net-play is considered to be among the best in the business. Both are good grass-court players too, and with the tennis event being held in the green lawns of the All England Club, it’s a big plus. Also, Paes made it to the mixed doubles final (with Elena Vesnina) at Wimbledon earlier this month, so that should be a big boost to his confidence.In all his triumphs and tribulations, one thing has always stood out – his indomitable spirit. His best often comes out when the chips are down.There could not be a better occasion for him to do that than in London.The Other ContendersMahesh Bhupathi (Men’s doubles)Age: 38Ranked: 15Turned Pro: 1995Career Titles (Doubles): 50Rohan Bopanna (Doubles with Mahesh)Age: 32Ranked: 14Turned Pro: 2003Career Titles (Doubles): 6TNN