# Leander Paes applies for AITA sportsperson merit roster 2026-08-21T20:01:32+00:00 | Sports | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Leander Paes has applied to join the All-India Tennis Association’s roster of Sportspersons of Outstanding Merit, the Bengal Tennis Association said on Friday. Paes, a former Indian tennis player and current BTA president, would qualify as a Tier 1 sportsperson because of his singles bronze at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Under AITA’s amended constitution, the roster will include 20 men and 20 women. Two men and two women will be elected to the General Body with voting rights, while one man and one woman will join the 15-member Executive Committee. General Body members can also apply for the Executive Committee and contest the posts of president, general secretary and treasurer. AITA has asked the Union Sports Ministry to include Grand Slams, ATP and WTA events, and the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup in the selection criteria. The ministry’s response and the final roster are the next steps. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The new structure gives accomplished players a formal route into AITA’s decision-making, rather than limiting representation to association office-bearers. Its effect will depend on how many eligible athletes apply and whether the ministry accepts tennis-specific achievements alongside multi-sport event medals. A larger merit pool could widen competition for the four voting places and two Executive Committee positions. The roster and subsequent elections will show how much influence athlete representatives gain within the association. ## Coverage - thehindu.com Reports Paesu2019s application and AITAu2019s proposed representation rules without editorial framing This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: AITA, Bengal Tennis Association, Leander Paes Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/leander-paes-applies-for-aita-sportsperson-merit-roster/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/leander-paes-applies-for-aita-sportsperson-merit-roster/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/