A band of doctors from the city will play a cricket match at the CC&FC on Tuesday to honour Dr Vece Paes. A doctor, an Olympian hockey player, father and mentor to Leander Paes, a medical consultant with a number of sports bodies, including the Board of Control for Cricket in India and the Indian Davis Cup team — Dr Paes wears many hats with ease.

On Republic Day, the CC&FC team will take on a Doctors XI to celebrate the 75-year-old doctor’s life. It will be an annual event hereon.

On Tuesday, Leander and Irfan Pathan will take the field for the doctors’ team.

On Monday, Leander recollected the hours he spent at CC&FC as a kid, watching his father and his friends play.

“I get emotional about CC&FC. This is one club that has never said no to me. I feel the culture of this place helped me become a professional athlete... the locker room here taught me what sports and camaraderie means,” he said, adding that he was extremely happy that the senior Paes was being honoured at a club which was almost like their second home.

“For people of my generation, playing hockey was very important since it meant you could win an Olympic medal,” Dr Paes said.

Reminiscing about the days when he was a part of the bronze-medal winning 1972 Munich Olympics team, he explained how he balanced his career in medicine and being a top-level sportsperson.

His teammate Gurbux Singh was also present at the media interaction.

“It is very important to keep the spirit of sportsmanship alive. We all need a catalyst,” Dr Paes added.