Athens: India's star tennis duo of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi will seek inspiration from Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore's silver medal achievement as they try to add a tennis medal to the country's Olympic tally.

While Bhupathi watched every bit of the shooting action on television, his partner Paes, who was not keeping well yesterday (Aug 18, 2004), watched a little bit but went to sleep hoping to recover for his crucial match doubles match against Roger Federer and Yves Allegro of Switzerland.

"It is a big morale booster for the contingent. A medal in the team helps everyone. Hope it inspires others to do something similar. All the Indians have to build on this achievement," Paes said.

"I watched a little bit. I had to sleep because I was not well. Later my dad came and told me that he had won a silver medal. It was a great feeling," he said.

Bhupathi, however, was glued to the television in his room at the Games village. "I was in the village watching the action. Everyone went crazy. It was an amazing scene, something very special." Paes' health has been a bit of a concern ahead of the quarterfinal encounter though both the tennis stalwarts did not think that it would hamper them on court. "I was running a mild fever and had a sore throat. I rested the whole day, as I needed to stay focussed.

"I also had that bleeding nose during the match. I just had it for three minutes. It was important to plug it. I used a fibre. Such things are nothing unusual, it had happened to me earlier also. But this time it happened after two years."