Dr. Vece Paes, celebrated Olympian and father of tennis legend Leander Paes, passed away on Thursday, August 14, 2025. A member of India’s bronze medal-winning hockey team at the 1972 Munich Olympics, Dr. Paes leaves behind a legacy that spans remarkable achievements in sport, medicine, and
administration.
A true polymath, Dr. Paes excelled across multiple disciplines. In addition to his Olympic hockey career, he competed in cricket, football, and rugby at divisional levels, later serving as President of the Indian Rugby Football Union from 1996 to 2002. A certified doctor in sports medicine, he merged clinical expertise with athletic experience, working with the Asian Cricket Council and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on anti-doping education programs. He also held the prestigious position of President of the Calcutta Cricket and Football Club, one of the world’s oldest sporting institutions.
Dr. Paes married Jennifer Dutton, a former Indian basketball player and great-granddaughter of renowned Bengali poet Michael Madhusudan Dutt. Their son, Leander Paes, went on to become an Olympic medalist in tennis, making the Paes family the only father-son duo in India to win Olympic medals in different sports.
Dr. Vece Paes will be remembered as a sportsman of extraordinary versatility, a pioneering medical professional, and an influential sports administrator whose contributions enriched Indian athletics for generations.
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