Leander Paes embraces his mother, Jennifer Paes, after beating Brazil’s Fernando Meligeni to win the bronze medal at the Atlanta Olympics. | Photo Credit: VINO JOHN

Former India basketball captain and Olympian Jennifer Paes, mother of tennis great Leander Paes, passed away on Sunday after a long battle with cancer. She was 72.

Jennifer, earlier known as Jennifer Dutton, was the great-great-granddaughter of the famous Bengali poet and dramatist Michael Madhusudan Dutt.

She represented India in basketball at the 1972 Munich Olympics and was among the prominent figures in Indian women’s basketball. She later captained the national team and remained an important name in the sport’s history.

Jennifer was part of one of India’s most recognised sporting families. Her former husband, Dr. Vece Paes, was a member of the Indian hockey team that won bronze at the 1972 Munich Olympics, while their son Leander went on to win bronze in men’s singles tennis at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

Published on May 17, 2026