Former India shooting coach Sunny Thomas, under whose guardianship the sport reached some historical highlights, including several Olympic medals, died on Wednesday after a cardiac arrest. He was 84 and breathed his last in Kottayam where he was located. Thomas is survived by his wife KJ Josamma, sons Manoj Sunny, Sanil Sunny and daughter Sonia Sunny. The former shooter, who led the Indian snipers from 1993 to 2012, was a first -hand witness of various memorable occasions in the history of sport. He was donated the Dronacharya Award in 2001 and was part of the coaching staff during the Athens Olympic Games, where Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore became the first Indian to win a matches in the games in shooting with his silver double staircase competition.
The National Rifle Association of India (Nrai) President Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo has caused Thomas's death.
“This is a void that the Indian shooting will find very difficult to fill. Professor Thomas was shooting an institution and India would not have become the shooting power it is today, without his selfless contribution to our sport,” Deo said.
“The entire shooting community is in grief and on behalf of everyone at the Nrai I send my sincere participation to his loved ones,” he added.
The highest point in Thomas's career came to Beijing when ABHINAV Bindra became the first Indian to claim an individual gold medal, who packed the yellow metal in the Heren 10m air rifles.
Bindra always kept Thomas highly as a coach, and it reflected in his moving tribute to him and called the Octogenarian a 'father figure'. “Deeply sad to hear about the death of Prof. Sunny Thomas. He was more than a coach, he was a mentor, guide and father figure for generations of Indian shooters,” Bindra wrote in his 'X' handle.
“His conviction in our potential and his relentless dedication to the sport laid the foundation for the rise of India in international shooting. He played a major role in my early years, and I will always be grateful for his support and guidance. Rest in peace, sir. Your impact is eternal.” Thomas, who was known as an astute man manager, also supervised the rise of eminent shooters during his long association with the national shooting team.
Some of the biggest names that came up during his term of office were Vijay Kumar, a silver gedallist at the 2012 Olympic Games, Jaspal Rana, Samaresh Jung and Gagan Narang, a bronze winner in the London Games.
Thomas was at the helm when Rana won three gold medals in the Asian matches of 2006 in Doha, and Jung took a record -breaking five gold medals during the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne that same year.
In addition to the medals, one of the most important achievements during his term of office was that he brought pistol, guns and hunting gun teams together under one umbrella for the convenience of coaching.
Thomas, who started his career as an English teacher at Uzhavoor St Stephen's College, Kottayam, Kerala, was always enthusiastic about shooting and was a national and state champion in the 1970s.
Later Thomas started a shooting range in the Idukki Rifle Association, Kottayam, to make the discipline too popular.
But it remained his greatest regret that he could not produce shooters at national level from his home, Kerala. PTI UNG PM UNG ATK
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