New Delhi, April 30 Legendary shooting coach Sunny Thomas passed away on Wednesday at Uzhavoor in the Kottayam district of Kerala at the age of 83. In his memory, Abhinav Bindra took to social media to mourn his passing.
Sunny Thomas was also the former vice-president of the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), the national coach for a long time, and earned the first Dronacharya award in Shooting.
Prof. Sunny Thomas, a Dronacharya Awardee, was the coach of the Indian shooting team for 19 years from 1993-2012, mentoring many a champion shooter, including Abhinav Bindra, who became the first Indian to win an individual Olympic gold in Beijing in 2008, during his tenure.
Abhinav Bindra was amongst the first to condole the death of Prof. Thomas as he took to social media and called the late Sunny Thomas a 'father figure to generations of Indian shooters.'
“Deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Prof. Sunny Thomas. He was more than a coach, he was a mentor, guide, and father figure to generations of Indian shooters. His belief in our potential and his relentless dedication to the sport laid the foundation for India’s rise in international shooting. He played a big role in my early years, and I’ll always be grateful for his support and guidance," posted Bindra.
NRAI president Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo has led the Indian Shooting community in mourning the passing away of the legendary coach.
“This is a void which Indian shooting will find very difficult to fill,” said Shri. Singh Deo. “Professor Thomas was an institution in shooting and India would not have become the Shooting power that it is today, without his selfless contribution to our sport. The entire shooting community is in grief, and on behalf of everyone at the NRAI, I send my heartfelt condolences to his loved ones,” he was quoted as saying by NRAI in a release on Wednesday.
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