Rohit sets India best time en route 100m butterfly gold
Rohit, who was born with a broken right thigh bone and took to swimming for physical fitness, clocked 52.50 to achieve his target of erasing Virdhawal Khade's India best mark of 52.79 and co-competitor Sajan Prakash's four-year-old meet record of 53.24. Sajan finished second with 53.51.
'I focused on my own race. Overthinking and the pressure of competition affected my performance in the past. My coach Nihar Ameen worked more on the mental side of my game,' said Rohit, who timed 54.4 in the last edition and 53.8 in the National Games, about his steady progress.
Even as she missed the meet record by 0.37 second, Harshitha Jayram lowered her personal best by nearly three seconds to time 2:37.72 and clinch the women's 200m breaststroke gold.
Bhavya Sachdeva overcame a forgettable performance a year ago to match her personal best (4:26.66) for the 400m freestyle crown.
Home favourite Shristi Upadhaya and Astha Choudhury clocked an identical 1:03.50 to share the 100m butterfly gold. Paris Olympian Dhinidhi Desinghu took the bronze with 1:03.52.
Karnataka, comprising Vihitha Nayana Loganathan, Meenakshi Menon, Trisha Sindhu S. and Dhinidhi, won the women's 4x200m freestyle relay title with a new meet record.
The results (winners only): Men: 200m freestyle: Aneesh Gowda (Kar) 1:50.85; 200m breaststroke: Danush Suresh (TN) 2:19.17; 100m butterfly: B. Benediction Rohit (TN) 52.57 (NMR, Old 53.24, Sajan Prakash, 2021); 4x200m freestyle relay: Karnataka 7:40.90.
Women: 400m freestyle: Bhavya Sachdeva (Del) 4:26.66; 200m breaststroke: Harshitha Jayaram (RSPB) 2:37.72; 100m butterfly: Shristi Upadhaya (Odi) and Astha Choudhury (RSPB) 1:03.50; 4x200m freestyle relay: Karnataka 8:52.32 (NMR, Old 8:53.83, Maharashtra, 2012).
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Indian Express
an hour ago
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'Can never forget how he would take Leander along on his Vespa scooter around different Calcutta clubs, to get him practice on all kinds of surfaces. He made Leander. At times, he tended as physio and masseuse to 6-7 athletes on the same day, because he never said No to any sportsperson. And all this by leaving his reputation behind,' Mehta adds. The former BCCI head Jagmohan Dalmiya was fascinated by Dr Paes's intellect and energy, and invited him to deal with one massive headache – age-fraud. 'Those days, BCCI had an immense problem of overage players, and bone tests would be inconclusive,' recalls Prof Ratnakar Shetty, former secretary of the board. While age-fraud is far from being wiped out, Dr Paes was brought in to set up a literal skeletal structure of dealing with the menace. He would bring in the Tanner Whitehouse-3 (TW-3) Test, but always insist on the rider – a limitation of science. 'He explained that TW-3 was reliable for verification till age 16, but not beyond. Still 5-6 high courts across India noted their gratitude to him for clearing out the fog around these cases and laying out a process for a level-playing field,' Shetty recalls. Things got tricky once when a father of a pair of twins approached Delhi HC, after one brother cleared the TW-3 test, and another failed it. 'An appeal went to the SC division bench on how one can be eligible and the other not if they are twins! But Dr Paes drafted a reply that was so good, the court arrived at a solution from this tricky matter,' Shetty says, adding, 'We were clueless in cricket, but he never tired of answering queries.' Setting up an anti-doping framework was another almighty challenge for a board that had been archaic for years. From drafting the anti-doping code to bringing in Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni and Rahul Dravid to shoot videos for messaging against drug use in educational videos, Dr Paes would lug the board out of its ancient ways. 'Some cases were genuine. But even for those that were slapped with sanctions, Dr Paes ensured the young athletes weren't scarred. He empathised as an athlete, talked them through it all,' Shetty recalls. Vece Paes, the hockey player, always remained in the shadow of India's finest centre-half Ajitpal Singh, though he was a worthy understudy in an era without rolling substitutions. 'He always carried a dignity even when he was not getting chances with only one spot available. He was a qualified doctor and an excellent centre half…his interception and parallel and through passes in attack were as good as anybody,' says retd Brigadier Harcharan Singh, member of the 1972 team. A regular with the Mohun Bagan and Bengal teams of Gurbux Singh and Inam-ur Rehman, he would study for medicine at Patiala national camps while with the team, and became go-to for all sports medicine queries even at Munich. 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When the rugby behemoths of Bombay and Calcutta came together to form the federation in 1996, the unanimous choice was Dr Paes as president. On the first trip of the Indian rugby team abroad in 1998, all the money gaps were plugged by Dr Paes dipping into Leander's account. In Thailand, he earned the tag 'joy guru.' 'He would spout wisdom on all sorts of things and became popular with young players! But the mischief was always within bounds,' Mehta recalls. Once when accompanying a hockey team to Singapore, the astroturf burnt shoe soles as Indians weren't wearing the right pairs of playing boots. 'Heat caused blisters and there was no money to buy new gear. He spoke to Leander, and they got shoes for the whole team,' Mehta recalls. But it was in 1996 at the All India rugby in a blistering game of Bombay Gymkhana vs CCFC that Dr Vece Paes left a lasting mark (and some sutures) on future captain Nasser Hussain. 'I must've been 16-17, and ended up with a cut on the back of my head. Dr Vece Paes took me aside, and there on the field, while I watched the match carry on, told me 'Son, this is going to hurt.' It sure did, there was no anaesthesia, and I was sitting there getting treatment from the President of the rugby federation! But now that I think of it, I fell in love with rugby right there, he let me watch the game, stitched me up as opposed to taking me to hospital, and I was back with my team in 30 minutes.' The doctor knew the minds and bodies of athletes, and it endeared him to legions across many sports. As an opponent he was tough, unsparing in fouling rivals, laughing it off after a warning that boomed, 'Rascal, now dekho saala.' As a doctor, he gently soothed away pains and fears.
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NDTV
5 hours ago
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Sports Fraternity Condoles The Demise Of 1972 Olympic Medallist Vece Paes
The sports fraternity has mourned the passing of Dr. Vece Paes, an Olympic medallist and father of tennis legend Leander Paes, who died on Thursday at the age of 80. A prominent midfielder from the golden era of Indian hockey, Dr. Paes was a member of the Indian team that clinched the bronze medal at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Dr. Paes, who served Indian sport with distinction both on and off the field, was suffering from an advanced stage of Parkinson's disease. He was admitted to Woodlands Hospital late on August 12 with multiorgan dysfunction due to lower respiratory tract & gastrointestinal tract infections. He had been under the Woodlands Home Care Service for the past ten months. 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. Dr Paes started his medical practice at NRS Medical College and Woodlands Hospital in the 1960s. "Very saddened by the passing of former Indian player and Olympic bronze medalist Dr. Vece 'Doc' Paes. The hockey family is grateful for what he gave to our sport as a player and then as a sports physician. We extend our condolences to his family and friends, as well as Hockey India', said FIH president Tayyab Ikram. "Deeply saddened by the passing of Dr. Vece Paes, a great hockey player, Olympic medalist & true motivator for athletes like me. Father of 7-time Olympian & Atlanta 1996 bronze medalist Leander Paes. His legacy in Indian sports will live his soul rest in peace Om Shanti," said four-time Olympian Dhanraj Pillayi. Former India hockey team captain Viren Rasquinha, said, "Very sad to hear of the passing of Dr. Vece Paes. He was a midfielder with the team that won the bronze medal at 1972 Munich Olympics. An amazing Sports Physician, he was team doctor when I played at Athens 2004. Incredible human being. RIP Doc. Thank you for everything." Besides hockey, Paes 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. "An Olympian, seasoned sports administrator & sports medicine pioneer, he brought passion, vision & dedication to every game he touched. His legacy will forever inspire us & Indian Sports," Rugby India mourned the demise of its 1st president. 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 to 2020. Former Indian cricket team all-rounder Yusuf Pathan shared on X, "Saddened to hear about the passing of Dr. Vece Paes, father of Leander Paes and the first doctor to win medals at both the Olympics and the World Cup. A great sportsperson and a wonderful human being. My heartfelt condolences to the family."
