Get well, Leander

One of Kolkata's favourite sons, Leander Paes, is down with a brain ailment, but people in his hometown, so familiar with his on-court fightbacks, are confident he will emerge unscathed from the crisis.

The tennis ace's fans are doing their bit to hasten his recovery by praying in churches, temples and mosques. Many say they are also praying in private for the former World No.1 doubles star's good health.

The Paes household in the southern neighbourhood of Beck Bagan has been receiving a steady stream of concerned friends and relatives and taking endless telephone calls.

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"People are concerned about my son. He is their hero. I'm sure everyone is praying for Leander's recovery," the 1998 Olympic bronze medallist's mother, Jennifer Paes, said.

"He is a fighter. Well, haven't you seen his on-court fight-backs? He will come through this crisis all right," said Sumit Verma, a tennis enthusiast who practices at South Club, Paes's alma mater.

Verma and some of his friends went to a nearby temple on Thursday to pray for him. "We prayed for his recovery," the 16-year-old Verma said.

Elders at South Club said they are anxiously awaiting the results of the latest tests carried out to see if Paes had a cyst in his brain or it is a tumor.

Paes, 30, was admitted to M D Anderson Cancer Center in Orlando, where a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan revealed a lesion in the left occipital region of his brain.

His father Vece, who is expected to reach Orlando by Friday evening, said his son's condition is stable and he is  responding to anti-inflammatory drugs.

"We have prayed for his quick recovery and the good Lord will surely cure him soon," said a sister at the Missionaries of Charity (MoC), which held a special prayer for Leander.

"We hope it is nothing serious and is just some kind of an infection," said another sister at the MoC, the order set up by Mother Teresa that Paes visits whenever he is in town.

"It's good that he is responding to treatment," Sheikh Rezaur Rehman, the owner of a saloon near the Paes's residence said. Rehman said he and some of his neighbours held special prayers for Paes at a local mosque.

Former Indian Davis Cup captain Naresh Kumar said he is in touch with Paes and the latter sounded better with every passing day.

"The news is so shocking. That something like this can happen to a lively, vivacious person like him is unthinkable," said Renu Ojha, a 30-year-old advertising executive. "His test results have come out negative so far. I'm sure the other results too will be negative," she added.

The Muslim-majority Beck Bagan neighbourhood is saddened by Paes's unexpected illness. "How can this happen to a chirpy, lively person like him? He is a sportsman, he can fight this," said Akhtar Ali, who runs a corner shop near the tennis player's home.

Paes, who has won 27 men's doubles titles in his career, bagged the French Open and Wimbledon titles in 1999 partnering compatriot Mahesh Bhupathi.

The two teamed up again in 2001 to win the French Open. Paes also won the mixed doubles with Martina Navratilova at this year's Australian Open and Wimbledon.