Kolkata, Aug 14 (UNI) Dr Vece Paes, a distinguished member of India’s Bronze medal-winning hockey team at the 1972 Munich Olympics, died at a private hospital here today following old age complications, a medical bulletin said.
He was 80 and left behind his son, former Indian tennis ace Leander Paes, who won the bronze for India in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Vece Paes, also a renowned sports medicine specialist, was admitted to a city hospital late on August 12, with multiorgan dysfunction due to lower respiratory tract and gastrointestinal tract infections.
A long-term patient of Parkinson’s disease, he had been bed-bound for an extended period, the hospital said in statement.Born in Goa in April, 1945, Dr Paes was exceptional in both sports and academics. Beyond his athletic achievements, he was also a doctor of sports medicine and served as president of the Calcutta Cricket and Football Club.
His son Leander often spoke of his father’s influence and inspiration in shaping his sporting career, particularly his passion for representing India at the Olympics.
Dr Paes started his medical practice at NRS Medical College and Woodlands Hospital in the 1960s.
In addition to hockey, he showed his skills by playing divisional cricket, football, and rugby. His love for rugby led him to become the president of the Indian Rugby Football Union from 1996 to 2002.
A former Indian hockey midfielder, Dr. Paes was part of the national team that won the bronze medal at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.
“It is a sad day for us…. The passing of Dr Paes draws the curtain on a great era of hockey. The Olympic medal in Munich is a testament to their grit and determination. I had the good fortune of meeting him a few times and I have always been inspired by his passion for sports in general. He was a great advocate of inculcating sporting culture in the country,” expressed Dilip Tirkey, President, Hockey India, and former captain of the national team.
In football, Dr. Paes made invaluable contributions to sports medicine in India.
He was Chairman of the AIFF Medical Commission from 2003 to 2006, during which he conceptualised comprehensive sports medicine programmes, sports medicine centres, training and accreditation of sports medicine teams, and propagated the Peak Performance Programme with the national teams (seniors, U19, U17 and U15), as well as various National Football League clubs.
He later served as Chairman of the AIFF Medical Committee from 2017–2020.
