Olympic bronze-winning hockey legend Dr Vece Paes passes away

Kolkata, Aug 14 (PTI) Dr Vece Paes, a member of the 1972 Munich Olympic Games bronze-winning Indian men's hockey team and father of legendary tennis player Leander Paes, died here on Thursday morning owing to age-related ailments. He was 80.

Paes, who was also suffering from Parkinson's disease, was admitted to the Woodlands Hospital here on Tuesday morning.

His last rites will be performed either on Monday or Tuesday, as the family will wait for the arrival of his daughters, who are both settled abroad.

He was married to Jennifer, a former India basketball team captain.

Paes, who donned multiple hats in his long association with Indian sports, was a mid-fielder in the Indian hockey team. He also played several other sports such as football, cricket and rugby at the divisional level and served as the president of the Indian Rugby Football Union from 1996 to 2002.

Born in Goa in April, 1945, Paes was exceptional in both sports and academics and following his successful stint with hockey, he became a sports medicine doctor.

He went on to work as a consultant with several sports bodies including the Asian Cricket Council, the Board of Control for Cricket in India and the Indian Davis Cup team.

Paes was also a member of the Indian hockey team that won a bronze medal at the 1971 World Cup in Barcelona but the Olympic medal a year after that was the biggest moment of his career.

The 1972 edition of the Games is tragically also remembered for the massacre of 11 Israeli athletes by a Palestinian militant group which forced a four-day shutdown of the showpiece.

After bidding adieu to his hockey career, Paes served as the team doctor of the Indian Davis Cup team for a decade and was also Leander's manager. Leander's initiation into tennis was on his father's push.

Leander took Indian tennis to great heights, becoming the most successful player in the country's history by winning 18 Grand Slam titles, including eight men's doubles and 10 mixed doubles crowns.

Leander also won the men's singles bronze at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, thus keeping the family tradition alive of winning a medal at the quadrennial showpiece.

He became the first Asian male tennis player to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Hockey India president and former defender Dilip Tirkey said, Paees senior's demise has ended a glorious era of the sport in the country.

"It is a sad day for us in Hockey India. The passing of Dr Paes draws curtains 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.

"We at Hockey India express our deepest condolences to his wife Jennifer, son Leander and their whole family. We stand together in their grief," said Tirkey.

Paes also played for the hockey teams of Kolkata football giants Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting during the '70s and '80s. He worked with East Bengal football team and players like Bhaichung Bhutia as well on the insistence of the club's then coach Subhas Bhowmick.

Paes was also one of the prominent voices of Kolkata's vibrant Anglo Indian community. PTI SCH AT KHS DDV AM PM AM PM PM