Former international and a stalwart of State hockey, I. Susainathan passed away on Sunday. He was 84.
A brilliant dribbler whose ball control was the envy of even the Olympic stars, Susainathan, who hailed from the Nilgiris, was an icon on the State scene in the fifties and sixties.
An inside-forward who missed the Olympics in 1952 by a whisker, Susainathan donned the national colours during a tour of Germany. He had also figured in the pre-Olympic matches in 1956.
Susai served first the City Police team, once a force to reckon with, and then he was instrumental in forming the TI Cycles Recreation Club, the unit behind the present Murugappa Gold Cup.
He played for the State for 18 years and also captained it on several occasions. He was one of the earliest coaches to train the adivasi boys in Orissa from 1975-1980.
Susainathan is survived by wife, three sons and a daughter.
Officials of the Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu (HUTN) paid their last respects on Sunday. Ms. Renuka Lakshmi, Secretary, HUTN, expressed her condolences on behalf of the hockey fraternity in the State.
She added that Susai's death was a great loss to sport and to the large number of his friends and admirers.
