Vece Paes: Rich praise for great son of Assolna who inspired many sportspersons
Panaji: Close to 25 Olympians trace their origin to Goa but most were born and brought up outside the state. Vece Paes was a rare exception as the hockey great and sports medicine expert was born here.
A member of the bronze medal-winning hockey teams at Barcelona World Cup in 1971 and Munich Olympics in 1972, Paes passed away at home in Kolkata on Thursday after a prolonged battle with advanced Parkinsons at age 80.
'Saddened to learn of the passing of Dr. Vece Paes, a proud Goan from Assolna with roots in Velim,' chief minister Pramod Sawant said on Thursday. 'An Olympic medallist and distinguished physician, he embodied dedication, discipline, and service to our nation.'
Assolna, a serene village in South Goa, has links to several Olympians like Paes' son Leander (tennis), Joaquim Carvalho (hockey) and Tanisha Crasto (badminton).
Carvalho, part of the Indian hockey team at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, said Paes' death has left a vacuum in Indian sports.
"He was a versatile player, gentleman and donned multiple hats in his long association with Indian sports. His contribution towards Indian sports in the field of hockey and sports medicine has been immense.
I feel proud that we hail from the same village of Assolna,' said Carvalho, who won silver at the Delhi Asiad and later coached the national hockey team.
Oscar Martins, president of the Cuncolim Hockey Club, described Dr Paes as 'a great son of Assolna who inspired many sportspersons.'
Cuncolim Hockey Club, he said, will work hard in realising the dream of AVC to have the next Olympian.
Assolna, Velim, and Cuncolim (AVC) is a tri-conglomerate of villages in South Goa of three bodies but with one soul.
Besides hockey, Paes was involved in football as a sports medicine expert and was president of the Indian Rugby Football Union (1996-2002).
"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,' the All India Football Federation said in a statement.
He later served as chairman of the AIFF Medical Committee from 2017–2020.
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