A towering personality, a gentleman to the core, a sportsperson par excellence, a doting father who shaped a champion, a doctor with vision and compassion — words fall short while describing Dr Vece Paes, who breathed his last in the early hours of Thursday.

A member of the 1972 Munich Olympic Games bronze medal-winning hockey team and father of tennis star Leander Paes, he died at Woodlands Hospital at 3.05am. He was 80 and is survived by his wife Jennifer Paes, long-time companion Juliana Van Steensel, son Leander and daughters Jacqueline Christina Paes and Maria Paes.

Paes, who was also part of the 1971 Barcelona World Cup bronze-winning India team, was fighting a long battle with Parkinson’s disease and had been in the hospital multiple times over the past few months.

His last rites will be performed early next week, after his daughters, who are settled abroad, reach the city. A heartbroken Leander was by his father’s side till the end.

While hockey was the sport that earned him accolades, he also played football, cricket and rugby at the divisional level and served as the president of the Indian
Rugby Football Union from 1996 to 2002. Paes also played for the hockey teams of Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting.

As a doctor specialising in sports medicine — a field in which he had been considered a pioneer in India — he had worked with the Asian Cricket Council, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (anti-doping programme) and the Indian Davis Cup team. He had also worked with the East Bengal football team and players like Bhaichung Bhutia.

The father-son duo are a rare instance in Indian sport. Both have won an Olympic medal, Leander’s bronze coming in the men’s singles at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, till date the lone medal in tennis at the Games for the country.

Olympian Gurbux Singh fondly remembered his junior. “We had an association of nearly 60 years. He was a perfect gentleman and it’s a huge loss for Indian sport. I remember him joining the India team as a young college student in 1966 (Hamburg), where I was the captain. We won the gold in that international meet.

“He was actually ahead of his time and understood the need for sports medicine in India. You can say he was a pioneer in that.I believe Vece would have attained greater glory in his career as a hockey player had he been included in the India team at the right time, in 1968. I remember him crying at the Patiala camp. He should have been in the 1968 Olympics team but for internal politics.”

Paes’s teammate during the 1972 Games, Ajit Pal Singh said: “He was so dedicated to sports medicine that he fully concentrated on it after his hockey career. He had helped a number of Indian athletes. It is a very sad day for Indian sports, especially hockey.”

Vasudevan Baskaran, captain of the India team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Moscow Games, was effusive in his praise. “It was an honour to know him. I was in the India camp in 1971 and from then we developed a wonderful rapport. I have even stayed at his home in Calcutta. This is a loss not only of an Olympian, but also of a far-sighted doctor who advocated that a sports medicine specialist must be a part of any Indian team or contingent.”

Dr Paes was an integral part of the Indian tennis community, not only as Leander’s father but also as a doctor who knew the needs and challenges of the players.

Mahesh Bhupathi, former India Davis Cup player and Leander’s partner in the world No.1 doubles team, said: “He was a special man with an incredible passion for sport. He made an impact on so many people’s lives, including mine, especially when I first got into the Davis Cup team.”

Zeeshan Ali, Davis Cupper and India coach, said: “He was a father figure to me. Our homes in Calcutta were in the same locality. My father (Akhtar Ali, Davis Cupper and India coach) and Uncle Vece were good friends too.

For Jaidip Mukerjea, it’s a loss of a long-time friend. “I knew him for close to 60 years. We became closer when Leander started playing tennis and Vece would often come to me for guidance. Then once he became the doctor for the Davis Cup team, we spent a lot of time together.”

Former Davis Cupper Ramesh Krishnan said: “I am just shocked. He was such a gentle human being.”

Rico Piperno, who had coached Leander and Bhupathi, said: “It’s a very sad day. I owe a lot to him.”

His infectious smile and warmth will be remembered by all who knew him. A gentleman to the core, Dr Paes ruled not only on the playing field but in the hearts of all whose lives he touched.