Kochi: Sunny Thomas, India’s former shooting coach, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 84 due to a heart attack. He died in Kottayam, where he lived with his wife, KJ Josamma, and their children—sons Manoj, Sanil, and daughter Sonia.
Thomas was an important figure in Indian shooting from 1993 to 2012. He helped many shooters achieve incredible successes, including winning multiple Olympic medals. He received the Dronacharya Award in 2001 and was part of the coaching team for the 2004 Athens Olympics. That year, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore made history by winning the first Olympic medal in shooting for India—a silver in men’s double trap.
The peak of Thomas’s career came in 2008 when Abhinav Bindra won gold in the men’s 10M air rifle event at the Beijing Olympics. Bindra shared a heartfelt tribute online, calling Thomas a mentor and father figure, saying he always believed in his potential and dedicated himself to the sport.
Thomas was known for his coaching skills and managed many famous shooters like Vijay Kumar, who won silver in the 2012 London Olympics, and Gagan Narang, who won bronze that same year. He was also around when Jaspal Rana won three gold medals at the 2006 Asian Games and Samaresh Jung won five golds at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne that year.
One of his big achievements was bringing together the pistol, rifle, and shotgun teams to help them train better. Before becoming a coach, he taught English at Uzhavoor St. Stephen’s College in Kottayam, Kerala. He was a champion shooter himself in the 1970s and started a shooting range in Idukki to promote the sport. However, he felt sad that he couldn’t help produce many national-level shooters from Kerala.
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