Did you know? Olympic hockey hero Dr Vece Paes also shaped Indian cricket with BCCI role
Not many know that Dr Vece Paes — 1972 Olympic hockey bronze medallist and father of tennis icon Leander Paes — had a long-standing connection with Indian cricket too.
A stalwart in sports medicine, Dr Paes served as a medical consultant for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Asian Cricket Council for decades, overseeing anti-doping education and player welfare. His expertise was sought at ATP tennis tournaments, Davis Cup ties, and even the Indian Super League (ISL).
In 2021, a special cricket tournament — the Dr Vece Paes Cricket Cup — was launched in his honour at the historic Calcutta Cricket and Football Club (CC&FC). Leander Paes himself turned up in pads for the Doctors' XI, teaming up with former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan to celebrate his father's legacy. The event is now an annual Republic Day tradition in Kolkata.
From Olympic glory to shaping sports medicine in India, Dr Vece Paes leaves behind a legacy that spans far beyond the hockey field.
Ahmedabad Plane Crash
Aditya Bhagchandani serves as the Senior Editor and Writer at Business Upturn, where he leads coverage across the Business, Finance, Corporate, and Stock Market segments. With a keen eye for detail and a commitment to journalistic integrity, he not only contributes insightful articles but also oversees editorial direction for the reporting team.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
No Grand Slam Track in 2026 till athletes paid for 2025: Johnson
The financially troubled Grand Slam Track circuit will not take place in 2026 until athletes awaiting prize money for this year are paid, its founder Michael Johnson said on Friday. Johnson admitted in a statement "we are struggling with our ability to compensate" athletes from the three meetings that took place in 2025 in Kingston, Jamaica, Miami and Philadelphia. The four-time Olympic sprint gold medallist said he had taken the decision to cancel the fourth and final meeting in Los Angeles "to avoid further losses and start the lengthy process of stabilising the company to get back on track. "But unfortunately, we saw circumstances change in ways beyond our control," he said. He added: "The 2026 season will not happen until those obligations are met -- and that is my #1 priority." Johnson launched Grand Slam as an alternative to the Diamond League series of international meetings with an important difference -- it would only feature track events and not field events. gj/pb
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
GB set up flag football quarter-final with Austria
Great Britain's women's flag football team will face Austria in the quarter-finals of the World Games after completing their group campaign on Friday. Britain followed up their opening win on Thursday by beating Japan 26-24 in the first of their two Friday matches, then losing 34-13 to defending champions Mexico. That meant Mexico topped Group B, so face the fourth-placed team in Group A - hosts China - while runners-up Britain face third-placed Austria. The tournament in Chengdu is seen as crucial for the GB team's development before flag football makes its Olympic debut at Los Angeles 2028. The World Games is a global multi-sport event showcasing sports not currently on the Olympic programme. GB qualified for the first time after securing seventh place at last year's Flag Football World Championships and are ranked fifth in the world, just behind Austria. Japan are ranked third and beat Britain 40-34 in the quarter-finals of the Worlds, but that defeat was avenged on Friday. GB held on for a narrow win, with quarterback Jessica Allen making four touchdown passes. The European champions led 20-12 at half-time after Grace Conway scored twice, either side of a Hannah Elliott touchdown. Marta Mathews scored to keep GB clear in the second half and although Japan also finished with four touchdowns, they failed to add the extra point on each occasion. GB twice went in front in their final group game, with Allen making touchdown passes to Elliott and Emily Kemp, but Mexico led 14-13 at half-time and finished with five touchdowns - all from Diana Flores passes. The winner of GB's quarter-final with Austria will face the USA or Italy in the semi-finals. The knockout and ranking games are played on Saturday and Sunday. World Games flag football quarter-finals All start times Saturday, BST: USA v Italy (01:30) Great Britain v Austria (04:10) Winners meet in semi-final at 08:00 Canada v Japan (02:50) Mexico v China (05:30) Winners meet in semi-final at 09:20 Italian athlete dies after collapse at World Games NFL flag vote sees Olympic 'Dream Team' move closer Get American Football news sent straight to your phone
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Pole vault superstar Duplantis teases 100-meter champion Lyles about post-race push by Bednarek
CHORZOW, Poland (AP) — Maybe only a track and field superstar like Mondo Duplantis could get away with such a mischievous question to Olympic 100-meter champion Noah Lyles. The pole vault world record holder wanted to know more Friday about the shove Lyles got from Kenny Bednarek after winning the 200 at United States national championships two weeks ago. 'Can I ask a question?' Duplantis said at the end of a multi-athlete news conference in Poland — alongside Lyles but not Bednarek — on the eve of the sprinters renewing their rivalry in the 100 on the Diamond League circuit. 'I want to ask Noah about, like, that stare down and that push,' Duplantis said, smiling and looking right along the line to Lyles, 'because that (expletive) was kinda crazy game.' Lyles repeated the answer he gave Aug. 4 in Eugene, Oregon, after the post-race beef with long-time teammate Bednarek seemed to fuel a must-see track rivalry ahead of the world championships next month in Tokyo. 'As coach said: 'No comment,'' Lyles replied, to laughter in the room. Duplantis came back for more: 'Fair enough, fair enough. I enjoyed it, though, I enjoyed it.' Lyles was invited to ask his own question of Duplantis. He suggested not setting another world record Saturday so that he might win the ring awarded by meet organizers for the best performance. 'No comment, no comment,' the U.S.-born Swedish star quipped back, to more laughter. Duplantis set his 13th world record Tuesday in Hungary, raising the bar to 6.29 meters. One year ago he cleared 6.26 in Poland to add a single centimeter to the record-setting mark that won Olympic gold in Paris last August. On the track, the men's 100 shapes as the main event Saturday, though Bednarek has since said he made up with Lyles in a long conversation. It will be the first 100 between Lyles and Kishane Thompson since Paris, when the American took gold by five-thousands from the Jamaica as both were timed at 9.79 seconds. Thompson starts Saturday as the fastest man in the world this year — 9.75 set in Kingston in June. Bednarek is second on the season list at 9.79, clocked winning the U.S. national title that was skipped by Lyles, who has an automatic entry for Tokyo as the defending champion from 2023. 'You basically have the Olympic final maybe missing two people, adding in some just as fast people,' said Lyles, whose season best so far is 10 flat in London last month. 'It's going to be good, regardless.' 'Of course," he said, "having Kishane there makes it even better.' ___ AP sports:
