New Delhi, India, August 27, 2025: Dr. Vece Paes, a former Indian hockey player and Olympic bronze medallist at the 1972 Munich Games, has passed away in Kolkata after battling Parkinson’s disease on August 14. He was 80.
A versatile sportsman, Dr. Paes played as a midfielder in the Indian hockey team, and was also a renowned sports medicine doctor and the father of Indian tennis icon Leander Paes.
The Indian Olympic Association mourned his passing and posted: “On behalf of everyone at the IOA, we are expressing our deep sadness. Our thoughts and prayers are with @leanderpaes and family during this incredibly difficult time”.
Dr. Paes served as a medical consultant to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Indian Davis Cup team, and his exemplary work in managing anti-doping education programmes – before the subject was widely known – for the BCCI, the Asian Cricket Council, as well as the Olympic Council of Asia earned wide recognition.
He once remarked: “Talent is an overrated thing. If you do your 10,000 hours (training) from the age of 12, you will hit your peak in the 20s. You have to work hard.”