Rio 2016: Playing in record seventh Olympics, Leander Paes says he's driven to win another medal

Kolkata: Indian tennis star Leander Paes on Wednesday said he’s all geared up to win a medal in next year’s Rio Olympics. [caption id=“attachment_2269566” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File picture of Leander Paes. Reuters[/caption] “To play in my seventh Olympics and create a world record. This is what dreams are made of…..I am so driven to win another medal,” Paes told reporters here. Paes, who made his debut in the Barcelona Olympic games in 1992, won a medal in the Altanta games in 1996. Talking about his preparation for the Olympics, he said, “Having prepared for six other Olympics, I know that I took two and a half years before the event to plan my schedule, plan my fitness training to peak during that one week of Olympics.” Paes, who signed as the brand ambassador for the IDBI Federal Kolkata Marathon, said he was focussed mainly on performance at the Olympics six months later. He said that he took three and a half years to train at a high altitude of 1750m above sea level so that his lungs are better prepared. Next month, he is going for Chennai Open as well as the Australian Open where he will be playing with Martina Hingis again, he said. In the men’s doubles, the 42-year-old will be playing with Jeremy Chardy. “For some athletes who only get ten seconds of a 100 metre race in every 4 years, it is very specific. For us tennis players if you serve a double fault at the wrong time in the wrong point of the match you are going to lose the Olympics,” the ace tennis player said. “For me training is going really well. Fitness-wise, tennis-wise I feel at great nick of the moment. I am really looking forward to Olympics,” Paes said. Asked about the chances of Sania Mirza getting a medal in the Olympics, he said, “Why not? I have already proven in tennis that we can win medals. Now I am looking forward to bagging a medal in singles and mixed doubles.” In future, the tennis star wants to start a sports centre for excellence in Kolkata to nurture young sporting talent. PTI