Dr Vece Paes, the celebrated Olympian and widely respected sports medicine pioneer, was laid to rest in Kolkata on Sunday, with members of India’s sporting fraternity joining family and friends in an emotional farewell.
Former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly and Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey were among the mourners who accompanied the hearse as it made its way into the Maidan. In a poignant tribute, young players stood on either side of the road and raised their sticks in salute while officials from Hockey Bengal watched in silence.
Leander Paes, visibly overcome with grief, was consoled by Ganguly, who placed an arm around the tennis star and offered quiet words of support. The funeral mass was held at St Thomas’ Church on Middleton Row before the cortege moved to the Lower Circular Road Cemetery for interment.
Flags of East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, the clubs Paes represented during his playing days, were draped over the coffin alongside the colours of Hockey Bengal. At the graveside, flowers and candles were placed as members of the sporting community paid their final respects.
Also read: Olympic hockey bronze medallist Dr Vece Paes dies
Among those present were former India cricketer Arun Lal and parliamentarian Derek O’Brien, who joined scores of well-wishers in remembering Paes’s contribution both as a player and as a sports medicine expert. City-based industrialist and former rugby teammate Noomi Mehta was also seen comforting Leander.
Tirkey described Paes as an “incredible figure” who brought scientific methods into player management long before sports science became commonplace. “Dr Paes’ absence will always remain in the hearts of sports fans and players. As a player, and as a doctor, he supported athletes for years, often free of cost,” he said.
Paes, who died on Thursday aged 80, won a bronze medal at the 1972 Munich Olympics and later served as a consultant to the BCCI, Indian Olympic Association and Asian Cricket Council. A graduate of Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College, he remained a fierce advocate of clean sport throughout his life and was widely acknowledged as one of the architects of modern sports medicine in India.
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