Kottayam (Kerala), Apr 30 (PTI) Former national shooting coach and Dronacharya awardee Sunny Thomas died at his residence in Uzhavoor here on Wednesday morning following a brief illness, family sources said.

He was 84.

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Thomas, who played a crucial role in positioning Indian shooting on the global stage, had been the coach of the national shooting team for 19 years, from 1993 to 2012.

A college professor by profession, Thomas himself was a five-time state shooting champion and a national champion in 1976.

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During his tenure as coach, the Indian shooting team had garnered a large number of medals in various international events, including the Olympics, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games.

He was the coach of many Olympic medallists of the country.

The nation recognised his contributions by bestowing him with the Dronacharya Award in 2001.

Thomas is survived by wife and two children.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)