Leander Paes’ father, Vece, who was part of the 1972 Munich Olympics’ bronze medal-winning hockey team, passed away at the age of 80 on Thursday. Vece Paes, later on, went on to become a spearhead in sports medicine and was also part of the BCCI Anti-Corruption Unit.
Leander Paes’ father, Vece, a member of the 1972 Munich Olympics bronze medal-winning hockey team,ย breathed his last at the age of 80 in Kolkata. Dr. Vece Paes was suffering from an advanced stage of Parkinson’s disease and was admitted to the hospital in the city on Tuesday, August 12. Dr. Paes was a midfielder in the hockey team, which had a dream run in the early 70s, winning the 1971 World Cup bronze, following it up with a bronze in the Summer Olympics the next year.
Dr. Paes had a successful career both on and off the field. While he was popular for hockey, having represented his country, he also playedย football, cricket and rugby, while excelling in the medicine field. Dr. Paes championed sports medicine after studying at Presidency College in Kolkata in 1964-65, helping several Indian athletes and later went on to become a medical consultant with several sports bodies, including the Asian Cricket Council, the Board of Control for Cricket in India and the Indian Davis Cup team.
He was also a key figure in devising anti-corruption educational programmes for the coaches, sportspersons and athletes to use beyond the field.ย
Born in Goa in 1945, Dr. Paes was also part of several sporting bodies in administration. Dr. Paes served as the president of the Indian Rugby Football Union from 1996 to 2002. He also held the position at Calcutta Cricket and Football Clubs.
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