When Leander Paes was making his Asian Games debut way back in 1990, Sania Mirza was barely a four-year-old.

Today, they plan to team up in mixed doubles to have a go at the gold at the Doha Games in December.

It will certainly add to the glamour quotient in India's campaign as the continental Games comes to the Middle East after a gap of more than three decades, but more importantly, it gives you an insight into the psyche of this 33-year-old veteran of Indian tennis.

Reams have been spent about how the man gets fired up at the sight of a tricolour, and how he had conjured up those magical wins at the Davis Cup arena, but you cannot simply have enough of it!

After having been on the road for more than 15 years now, 'Lee' as he is affectionately referred to by his friends in his home city Kolkata could have chosen a softer option than this.

He had won the country an individual Olympic medal after a 50-year-wait (Yes, that's it!), ruled the roost in doubles play in the late Nineties along with buddy Mahesh Bhupathi till they split - and even now, shows enough stomach for a fight, as in the ongoing US Open along with partner Martin Damm.

A real case of been-there-done-that, you could say, in a country which craves for more sporting heroes outside cricket. Leander, of course, listens to his own body which has taken its share of wear and tear the singles action is over for him now while his high ranking in doubles helps him to pick and choose the tournaments he plays these days.

Both his and Bhupathi's reputation as quality doubles players have also endeared them to several top-notch women stars for the mixed doubles segment.

The fuse, however, goes off when country calls. It's been just the other day that Paes, an 'old' man in this game now, battled severe cramps to beat Pakistan's Aisam Qureshi in the deciding singles in a zonal Davis Cup tie. Now for somebody who had stunned the likes of Goran Ivanisevic, Wayne Ferreira, Henri Leconte to carve out a larger-than-life image in the Davis Cup the last one may not feature in his career highlights at all.

But then, things have not been getting any easier for Paes. Ever since Bhupathi had decided to stay away from competing in the Cup singles, he had been left to shoulder an unenviable job which still sees him squeezing in three arduous matches in as many days.

A tough call, but Leander Adrian Paes cannot not say no when it comes to the country. Be it under hostile conditions for an away Cup tie, or away from the glitz and glamour in the multi-discipline events like an Asian Games or the SAF Games. Hence, you could now brace for a Paes-and-Mirza show, come December in Doha!