Former national shooting coach and Dronacharya awardee Prof. Sunny Thomas, who played a pivotal role in transforming the country into a shooting powerhouse, passed away at Uzhavoor in Kottayam district this morning. He was 83.

Prof. Thomas, who dedicated himself to full-time coaching after retiring as an English Professor, served as India’s national shooting coach from 1993 to 2012. His tenure was remarkably fruitful, with Indian shooters achieving significant success in the Olympics, World Championships, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. He was a mentor to many of India’s ace shooters, including Rajya Vardhan Sing Rathore, Abhinav Bindra, Vijay Kumar and Gagan Narang, among others.