Arjuna winning former TT player V Chandrasekhar dies due to COVID complications
Chennai: Arjuna award-winning former India table tennis player V Chandrasekhar died at a private hospital here on Wednesday due to COVID-19 related complications, family sources said.
He was 64 and is survived by his wife and a son.
Chandra, as he was popularly known, was a three-time national champion and was the president of Tamizhaga Table Tennis Association and Director and head coach of the SDAT-Medimix TT Academy in the city.
The Chennai-born player, who had reached the semifinals of the Commonwealth Games in 1982, was also a successful coach.
His playing career was cut short in 1984 following a botched knee surgery at a hospital here which led to him losing mobility, speech and vision. He fought back to recover and served the game as a coach.
He also fought a legal battle against the hospital and got a verdict in his favour.
He was a three-time national champion and a gold medallist in BA (Economics) and Law at the time of the career-ending injury.
Subsequently, sheer willpower helped Chandra return to 70-80 per cent of his normal mobility and he decided to focus on training promising players.
According to a few paddlers who have played with him, Chandra was one of the most attractive players and took risks at crucial stages of the game to unsettle opponents.
Current Indian paddler G Sathiyan and former national champion S Raman were among his trainees. Table tennis ace A Sharath Kamal condoled the death of Chandrasekhar.
"We have lost a champion who fought death 37 years ago. Saddened to hear of the passing of V Chandrasekar Sir. Table Tennis as a sport has lost a great mentor, coach and an amazing player. He made the sport famous in the early 80's. Rest in Peace, Sir," Kamal tweeted.
On his part, Sathiyan said, "Completely shocked and indeed a very personal loss to me and my family. Lost my long time childhood & former coach & Arjuna Awardee Chandrsekhar sir today...Your memories and teachings will always stay with me sir. RIP."
"Playing with him for almost 14 years. From 1998 till 2012 I was with him. He let me play in my style. He was the one who always helped. He nurtured me. It is not only a loss for me, but for my family also," he added.
Raman, who was trained by Chandra, recalled his former coach as a very stylish and multi-talented player.
The table tennis fraternity in Chennai condoled his death, saying that the sport had lost a legend.
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One held for illegal transportation of beef in goods vehicle in Karnataka's Mandya
Mandya (PTI): A driver was arrested for allegedly transporting beef and other cattle parts illegally in a goods vehicle in this district, police said on Monday.
The vehicle was intercepted and seized during a late-night operation near Paschimavahini in Srirangapatna taluk on Sunday, they said.
According to police, the vehicle, which was reportedly travelling from Hunsur to Ramanagara, was first stopped by members of a local Hindu organisation, who then alerted the police. The Srirangapatna Town Police reached the spot and took the vehicle into custody.
During inspection, police found beef and legs of cattle inside the goods carrier. The driver was detained on the spot, a senior police officer said.
Samples of the seized meat have been sent for forensic examination, he added.
A case under the relevant sections of the Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Cattle Preservation Act has been registered at the Srirangapatna Town Police Station, and an investigation is underway to trace the source and destination of the consignment, they said.
