Former National Shooting Coach Sunny Thomas Dies

Former India shooting coach Sunny Thomas, under whose tutelage the sport achieved some historic highs including multiple Olympic medals, died on Wednesday after suffering a cardiac arrest. He was 84 and breathed his last in Kottayam where he was based. Thomas is survived by his wife KJ Josamma, sons Manoj Sunny, Sanil Sunny and daughter Sonia Sunny.

The former shooter, who guided the Indian marksmen from 1993 to 2012, was a first-hand witness to several momentous occasions in the sport's history.

He was bestowed with the Dronacharya award in 2001 and was part of the coaching staff during the 2004 Athens Olympics where Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore became the first Indian to win a Games medal in shooting with his silver in the men's double trap competition.