A pioneer in every sense, Prof. Thomas was the first Dronacharya Awardee from Indian shooting, receiving the country’s highest coaching honour in 2001.
Published Apr 30, 2025 | 1:49 PM ⚊ Updated Apr 30, 2025 | 1:49 PM
Prof Sunny Thomas. (Supplied)
Synopsis: Prof. Sunny Thomas, former national shooting coach and Dronacharya awardee, passed away at 83. A pioneer of Indian shooting, he coached from 1993–2012, guiding India through its golden era with Olympic stars like Abhinav Bindra. A mentor and institution builder, he championed discipline and transparency, shaping champions and transforming India into a global shooting powerhouse.
Former national shooting coach Prof Sunny Thomas on Wednesday, 30 April, passed away, aged 83 years.
A retired English professor from St Stephen’s College, Uzhavoor in Kerala, Prof Thomas left an indelible mark on Indian shooting, guiding the nation’s marksmen through what is widely remembered as a golden era from 1993 to 2012.
He is a former Indian national shooting champion from Kerala in the rifle open sight event. After retirement, Thomas worked as a full-time shooting coach.
Patient, understanding, and disciplined, Prof Thomas was more than a coach — he was a mentor, father figure, and an institution builder who quietly shaped the careers of India’s greatest shooting talents, including Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra.
“It’s no coincidence that all four of India’s Olympic shooting medals came under your watch,” Bindra had remarked in a heartfelt video message on Prof Thomas’s 80th birthday in 2021. His words were a testament to the profound impact the veteran coach had on Indian shooting.
A pioneer in every sense, Prof. Thomas was the first Dronacharya Awardee from Indian shooting, receiving the country’s highest coaching honour in 2001.
Under his stewardship, Indian shooters clinched hundreds of medals across five Olympics, six World Championships, over 50 World Cups, six Asian Games, and five Commonwealth Games, and bagged 29 medals in the Asian Games and 95 in the Commonwealth Games.
When Prof. Thomas took over the reins in the early 1990s, one of his first and foremost tasks was to instil discipline and build a fair, transparent system.
“The action was transparent. If they were shooting well, they were in the national team. Gradually, I won their confidence — and it worked miracles,” he would later recall in an interview to a daily. It was this trust and structure that laid the foundation for India’s shooting renaissance.
His tenure saw iconic moments — Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore’s historic silver at Athens 2004, Abhinav Bindra’s gold at Beijing 2008, and the twin successes of Vijay Kumar (silver) and Gagan Narang (bronze) at London 2012.
Prof. Sunny Thomas’s legacy is etched not only in the medals and milestones but in the lives he shaped, the system he reformed, and the quiet dignity with which he elevated Indian shooting to world-class standards.
He will be remembered as the man who built a generation of champions — with grace, fairness, and unwavering belief in his protégés.
Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan condoled the demise of Sunny Thomas, calling it an irreparable loss to Indian sports.
“Behind every medal was the silent, relentless effort of coach Sunny Thomas. His passing is a great loss to the sports fraternity. We share the grief of the nation,” Satheesan said in his message.
(Edited by Sumavarsha, with inputs from Dileep V Kumar)
