Latest news with #VecePaes
News18
a day ago
- Sport
- News18
BCCI mourns the passing of Vece Paes
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], August 18 (ANI): The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) expresses its profound grief at the passing of former Indian Olympian and renowned sports medicine expert, Vece Paes, who breathed his last on Thursday morning. He was 80, as per the BCCI release.A member of India's bronze medal-winning men's hockey team at the 1972 Munich Olympics, Paes was a multi-faceted sportsman and administrator who also represented the country in the 1971 Hockey World Cup. Following his illustrious playing career, he dedicated himself to the field of sports medicine, serving athletes across disciplines with distinction and was associated with the BCCI from October 2010 to March 2018 as an Anti-Doping and Age Verification Consultant. He introduced structured educational programmes for anti-doping within the BCCI, significantly enhancing awareness and compliance among players and support staff. His expertise and commitment were instrumental in strengthening the Board's anti-doping education and testing framework, as well as in implementing age-verification and athlete welfare initiatives. His professional integrity and passion for clean sport left an indelible mark on Indian cricket's support Saikia, BCCI Honorary Secretary, said, 'Dr. Paes's association with the BCCI reflected his belief in safeguarding the spirit of sport. His meticulous work in anti-doping, including the introduction of educational initiatives, and his efforts in age verification have benefitted generations of cricketers. We extend our heartfelt condolences to Leander Paes, his family and loved ones," as quoted by the BCCI BCCI joins the sporting community in mourning the loss of Vece Paes and in celebrating a life devoted to excellence, integrity, and service to sport. (ANI)
Time of India
2 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
Former India Olympian Vece Paes's funeral attended by Sourav Ganguly, Dilip Tirkey and sporting fraternity
Vece Paes with son Leander Olympic bronze medallist and sports medicine expert Dr. Vece Paes was laid to rest in a funeral service on Sunday. Former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly and Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey joined numerous mourners in the procession. Young players formed a guard of honour with raised hockey sticks as the hearse proceeded to the Maidan tent. Hockey Bengal officials were present to pay their respects. Tennis legend Leander Paes was deeply emotional at his father's funeral. Sourav Ganguly offered comfort by embracing him and sharing words of support. The funeral mass was conducted at St Thomas' Church on Middleton Row. Former India cricketer Arun Lal and Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien joined the family and sports community in bidding farewell. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! The service concluded with interment at the Lower Circular Road Cemetery on AJC Bose Road. The graveside ceremony included flower offerings and candle lighting. The funeral procession made a stop at the Hockey Bengal tent where Dilip Tirkey paid his respects. The coffin was draped with flags of East Bengal club, Mohun Bagan, and Hockey Bengal. Calcutta Cricket and Football Club member Noomi Mehta, a former rugby teammate of Dr. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Got Knee Pain? Treatment in Uttara Model Town Might Surprise You Knee Pain Treatment | Search Ads Undo Paes, was present to console Leander Paes. Dr. Paes passed away on Thursday at 80 due to age-related illness and Parkinson's disease. He was known as a multifaceted sportsman who excelled as a hockey midfielder and rugby player before becoming a prominent sports medicine expert. "Dr Paes's absence will always remain in the hearts of sports fans, sports fraternities, and many other hockey players. As a player, as a doctor, he has supported the players a lot," Tirkey told PTI. "During the camp, he used to stay with the team, take care of the players, treat them, for many years, free of cost. As far as I am concerned, personally I saw him from close quarters during the Athens Olympics in 2004." "Today we are talking about sports science, and how players can advance in sports through this. But doctor have brought this in many years ago, and used to pay attention to this. Today, you are seeing the result of this." "In Indian sports, for the first time, we saw from one family, father and son winning Olympics medals -- Dr. Paes in hockey and then Leander in tennis. His mother was also the Indian basketball team captain. So it was a complete sports family." "Dr Paes absence will always be there. And we will never forget his contribution to hockey and the players and sports in general," Tirkey added. Dr. Paes served as president of the Indian Rugby Football Union from 1996 to 2002. After his playing career, he focused on sports medicine, working as a consultant for various sports organisations. He provided his expertise to the BCCI, Asian Cricket Council, All India Football Federation, and the Indian Olympic Association. He also travelled with the Indian Davis Cup team. Dr. Paes graduated from Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College in Kolkata. He was renowned for his sporting achievements and his dedication as a doctor and administrator. He was also recognised for his strong stance against age fraud and doping in sports. Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
Time of India
5 days ago
- Sport
- Time of India
Vece Paes: Rich praise for great son of Assolna who inspired many sportspersons
Dr Vece Paes (left) with other 1972 Olympic bronze medallists Harmik Singh and Ashok Kumar during a dinner in Delhi to honour visiting International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach hosted by the Indian Olympic Association 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. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Happy Independence Day wishes , messages , and quotes !
Hindustan Times
5 days ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Vece Paes: A Man for All Seasons
Siliguri: They say, 'Never meet your heroes.' Those people obviously never enjoyed the calming, charming, chuckle-a-minute company of Vece Paes, the winner of an Olympic bronze medal with the India hockey team in Munich 1972 and a doctor of medicine with a pioneering role in the anti-doping initiatives of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), who died in his adopted city of Kolkata on Thursday at the age of eighty. Dr. Vece Paes after a practice session with his son and tennis player Leander Paes at the SDAT Stadium, Chennai on Thursday. (HT) Except that, leaving aside fans of a certain vintage, of course, Dr. Paes was better known as father to a hero. Indian tennis legend Leander Paes tore up the Davis Cup arena with a series of rousing victories against fancied opponents in the 1990s and emulated his father by winning an Olympic bronze medal in singles in Atlanta 1996. The paternal bond Vece Paes shared with Leander Paes ran deep and had its roots in his own, more complicated relationship with his father. A Goan Christian, and not an Anglo-Indian as many mistook him to be, Vece Paes was born to Peter Paes of Assolna and Marlaque, who belonged to the D'Costa family of Velim. Brought up by the D'Costas since the age of four, after a sojourn in Tanzania in East Africa where Peter Paes worked as a doctor, Vece Paes followed the family's tradition and went to Bangalore to study at St. Joseph's. There, he made full use of the school's insistence on achieving excellence in both academics and sports, including cricket, football and hockey. He remembered meeting Richard Allen, the winner of three Olympic gold medals with the hockey teams from pre-independence India who was the games master at Bishop's Cotton College in Bangalore, at an inter-school match. 'We beat them hollow in hockey,' Vece Paes recalled. As someone who always believed sporting excellence comes from hours of practice, Vece Paes knew the importance of those formative years. However, Vece Paes's hockey career bloomed only after he arrived in Calcutta (now Kolkata) in 1963 to study at St. Xavier's as part of his preparation to pursue medicine, another family tradition that saw his father as well as three of his siblings becoming doctors. Calcutta was a city where the sporting ethos of the British still flourished. Vece Paes fondly remembered the crucial role played by Father Cecil K. Leeming, his teacher at St. Xavier's, in helping him pursue hockey, a plan vehemently opposed by Peter Paes who thought it would be a hindrance to his son' career in medicine. Gurbux Singh, another proud Kolkatan who won an Olympic gold in Tokyo 1964 and an Olympic bronze in Mexico 1968, remembers Vece Paes joining the East Bengal hockey team in 1966 while still at St Xavier's. 'Later, we both shifted to Mohun Bagan, where we played together for thirteen years, winning nine Beighton Cups and nine Calcutta League titles,' Singh said. A supremely fit athlete, Vece Paes mostly played as centre half. He was sound in defence and quick to attack. He swiftly made it to the Bengal state team and then made his India debut at a tournament in Hamburg in 1966 under the captaincy of Gurbux Singh. He was unlucky to miss out on selection for the 1968 Mexico Olympics where Gurbux Singh was the joint-captain. 'That's why Gurbux is always nice to me,' Vece Paes would joke. He did make it to the India team sent to the 1972 Olympics, thereby fulfilling a long-standing dream. By then, Vece Paes had joined NRS Medical College and qualified as a doctor, specialising in general surgery. Calcutta's traffic sergeants must have gotten weary of the sight of the young doctor tearing up the city streets in his scooter, and for a short while in a battered ambassador, in a bid to reach the Maidan in time for Mohun Bagan's matches in the afternoon. 'He would be tying up his shoelaces and putting on his shorts while we started with ten men,' Singh said. Vece Paes married former India basketball player Jennifer Dutton, a great-granddaughter of the famous Bengali poet Michael Madhusudan Dutt, and they had three children, Jacqueline, Maria and Leander. Juggling the responsibilities of a young family, a fledgling career in medicine and the requirements of top-drawer hockey proved impossible after a while. 'I had a short career as an international hockey player,' Vece Paes was happy to concede. Vece Paes and Jennifer also separated while relatively young and Vece Paes lived with his partner, Juliana Van Steensel. The young Leander Paes was crazy about football. 'He would literally take the muddy football to bed at night,' Vece Paes recalled. However, frequent seizures at the age of six meant Leander Paes was told to avoid full-contact sport. He took up tennis later. According to Vece Paes, that was why his son hit the tennis ball funny, as famously noted by Andre Agassi in his autobiography, Open: he never had the 10,000 hours of practice at tennis that one requires to master a skill. As Leander Paes's tennis career took off, Vece Paes took to accompanying him whenever he could and it was then that he decided to shift towards sports medicine. Vece Paes went on to play a crucial role in setting up BCCI's anti-doping programme and doing the same in other countries under the Asian Cricket Council as part of former BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya's grand plans of globalising the sport. Parkinson's slowed Vece Paes down in his last years, but could never dampen his spirit. He was certainly a hero and one who was worth meeting, again and again. The sun will shine a little less bright over Kolkata tomorrow.
Time of India
5 days ago
- Sport
- Time of India
Untold Story! Vece Paes borrowed Olympic medal from Dhyan Chand's son after losing his; but his final wish went unfulfilled
Vece Paes (R), with his son Leander Paes, won the bronze medal at 1975 Munich Olympics. NEW DELHI: In the twilight of his life, as Parkinson's turned his once-fluid stride into a careful shuffle and dulled the precision that had danced through his every move, Dr Vece Paes carried a quiet longing. The 80-year-old, who drew his last breath on Thursday morning, wanted to once again feel the weight of the bronze medal he had won for India at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Speaking to , Ashok Kumar , son of Major Dhyan Chand and Paes's former teammate, remembered their meeting in Kolkata two years ago. The disease had slowed Paes's movements, each step deliberate, each pause longer than it once was. 'It was difficult for him to walk or sit,' Ashok recalled, his voice softening. 'But his mind… it was still sharp. He told me his Olympic medal had been misplaced during shifting. He wanted to have the medal from me and make a replica.' Ashok, who had played with Paes at Mohun Bagan and shared the same medal in Munich 53 years ago, didn't hesitate. I handed him my medal, the Olympic medal, for six months. It was not easy to part with it. You know what that means Ashok Kumar, son of Major Dhyan Chand 'I handed him my medal, the Olympic medal, for six months. It was not easy to part with it. You know what that means,' Ashok, now 75, continued. Paes took the medal to craftsmen in Mumbai, then tried again in Kolkata. 'He tried everywhere,' Ashok said. 'But the replica was never made. Finally, he gave it back to me. 'He was one of the best centre-halves. We won the Calcutta League with him in 1969. As a person? Like a saint. A helpful doctor in the truest sense.' The gentleman centre-half File photo of Dr Vece Paes. T wo-time Olympic medallist Ajit Pal Singh, captain of India's 1975 World Cup-winning team and one of Paes's closest friends, first knew 'Doc' as a rival for the same position. 'I always feared Vece Paes,' the 78-year-old said with the fondness audible in his voice. 'That fear kept me on my toes, to stay fit, to play well, otherwise, he could replace me. He was a gentleman, very polished, very polite. Never fought with anyone. Minding his own business was his style.' The two shared the Olympic dressing room in Munich. 'You can't doubt the calibre of someone who makes an Olympic side,' Ajit Pal said. 'He was fit, perfect. We were rivals once, but always cordial. No curt words, no grudges.' Even off the turf, the Paes family was woven into Indian sport. 'His wife played basketball for India with my wife,' Ajit Pal recalled. 'It's rare to see that kind of all-round sporting pedigree; father and son Leander, both Olympic bronze medallists. Remarkable. It's very sad that Vece Paes is gone today. It's a big loss to Hockey.' A big loss to not just hockey, but Indian sports Leander Paes (L) with his father Dr. Vece Paes (R). (Image: X) Paes's contributions to Indian sport extended far beyond the pitch. A sports medicine specialist, he worked with the Asian Cricket Council and the BCCI, spearheading anti-doping education programmes long before the term became a fixture in Indian sporting discourse. He headed the Indian Rugby Football Union for six years, and presided over the Calcutta Cricket and Football Club, an institution as old as organised sport in India. And yet, when friends speak of him now, their voices return not to boardrooms or positions, but to a single, unfinished search, the Olympic medal he had lost. The medal may be gone, and so is the man, but the respect and affection he earned will always remain. Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
