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.

The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) president Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo condoled the death of Thomas.

“This is a void which Indian Shooting will find very difficult to fill. 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,” said Deo.

“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 added.

The highest point in Thomas’ career came in Beijing when Abhinav Bindra became the first Indian to claim an individual gold medal, bagging the yellow metal in the men’s 10M air rifle event.

Bindra always held Thomas in high regard as a coach, and it reflected in his touching tribute to him, calling the octogenarian a “father figure.” “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,” Bindra wrote in his ‘X’ handle.

“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. Rest in peace, sir. Your impact is everlasting.” Thomas, who was known as an astute man manager, also oversaw the rise of eminent shooters during his long association with the national shooting team.

Some of the biggest names to emerge during his tenure were Vijay Kumar, a silver-medallist in the 2012 London Olympics, 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 2006 Asian Games at Doha, and Jung clinched a record-breaking five gold medals that same year during the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.

Besides the medals, one of the major achievements during his tenure was him bringing together pistol, rifle and shotgun teams under one umbrella for the ease of coaching.

Thomas, who started his career as an English lecturer in the Uzhavoor St Stephen’s College, Kottayam, Kerala, always was keen on shooting and was a national and state champion in the 1970s.

Later, Thomas started a shooting range at the Idukki Rifle Association, Kottayam, to popularise the discipline.

But it remained his biggest regret that he could not produce national level shooters from his home state, Kerala. PTI UNG PM UNG ATK