Vece Paes, a former member of the Indian hockey team that won a bronze medal at the 1972 Munich Olympics and father of tennis legend Leander Paes, passed away at the age of 80 in Kolkata. He breathed his last at a private hospital on Thursday midnight after battling age-related ailments.

Paes was suffering from advanced-stage Parkinson’s disease and had been admitted to a city hospital on Tuesday morning. Known for his versatile contribution to Indian sports, Vece Paes played as a midfielder for the Indian hockey team.

At the 1972 Olympics, India lost to Pakistan in the semifinals but defeated the Netherlands to secure a bronze medal. Apart from hockey, Paes was passionate about various other sports, including football, cricket, and rugby.

He also served as President of the Indian Rugby Football Union from 1996 to 2002. Beyond his athletic career, Vece Paes was a renowned sports medicine doctor and worked as a medical consultant for top sports bodies such as the Asian Cricket Council, the BCCI, and the Indian Davis Cup team.

His death marks the end of an era in Indian sports, where he contributed both on the field as an athlete and off the field as a medical expert.