Vece Paes – the doctor and administrator
Even as he played international hockey, Paes continued his medical studies and later specialised in sports medicine. His medical expertise saw him work with athletes across sports, helping them recover from injuries and extend their careers.
Rugby, in particular, became a lifelong passion. He represented the Calcutta Cricket and Football Club in the sport and later served as president of the Indian Rugby Football Union from 1996 to 2002, overseeing a period of structural reforms aimed at growing the game in India.
He also served as a medical consultant for the All India Tennis Association (AITA) and All India Football Federation (AIFF) and the team doctor of the Indian Davis Cup team.
Vece Paes’ expertise also seeped into cricket in a major way as he pioneered anti-doping and age-verification systems as Sports Medicine Consultant to the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) between 2001 and 2009.
He then took charge of BCCI’s national anti-doping efforts. Administrators like Ratnakar Shetty have credited him with transforming BCCI’s approach to athlete welfare.
A true sporting legacy
Vece Paes married Jennifer Paes, a former India women’s basketball captain and fellow Olympian. Jennifer was also the great-granddaughter of legendary Bengali poet Michael Madhusudan Dutt.
Together, Vece and Jennifer raised three children – two daughters and one son.
Their son, Leander Paes, would go on to become one of India’s most decorated tennis players.
Leander famously won the men’s singles bronze at the Atlanta 1996, ending India’s 44-year wait for an individual Olympic medal, and won 18 Grand Slam doubles titles.
In fact, it was his father’s Olympic medal which set Leander on his path.
“Ever since I was a little boy, I used to polish my father’s Olympic medal every Sunday after church, and I always wondered what that medal was all about,” Leander recalled during an interview with Olympics.com.
“For some reason, that medal attracted me more than any other trophies my dad had. And as I grew a little older, I realised what it meant to represent 1.3 billion people from a country like India.
“He’s been my example my whole life. He’s been my example to be the best I can be,” Leander added.
The Paes household was one where sport was not just a profession, but a way of life.
Vece Paes battled Parkinson’s in his later years and passed away on August 14, 2025, in Kolkata, aged 80.
For Indian sport, Vece Paes’s legacy is twofold – the medals and memories he gave as an athlete, and the broader sporting culture he helped nurture through his leadership and medical expertise.
From the hockey fields of Munich to the rugby pitches of Kolkata and the tennis courts his son would later conquer, Vece Paes will forever be remembered as the renaissance man of Indian sport.