Veteran journalist S Thyagarajan dies | India News
Chennai: Veteran Indian sports journalist S Thiagarajan, who carved a niche for himself with extensive coverage of hockey, died here on Monday after battling age-related ailments. His age is 85. He is survived by his wife and two daughters. He was cremated in Chennai on Monday. Thyagarajan, who has covered six Olympics and nine Asian Games, worked for ‘The Hindu’ newspaper from 1962 to 2013 before retiring. He started his career with ‘The Indian Express’ in 1961. “S. Thiagarajan, veteran sports correspondent and doyen of hockey writing, who worked with The Hindu for many decades, has passed away,” KC Vijay Kumar, sports editor of ‘The Hindu’ posted on ‘X’. Thiagarajan also served on media and communication-related committees of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) and the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) during his journalistic career. He is a former president of both Sports Journalists Federation of India and Tamil Nadu Sports Journalists Association. India’s former captain-cum-coach and 1980 Olympic gold medalist Vasudevan Baskaran was heartbroken as Thyagarajan, popularly known as “Thagu”, supported him throughout his career. “When I started hockey in 1969 he was covering the game and covering collegiate hockey for Hindus. That’s basically how he got popular. His dedication, love and knowledge of the game was unparalleled,” Baskaran told PTI. “It is very sad for Indian sports because apart from hockey he was a great athletics correspondent. His contribution to Indian hockey was immense,” he added. Senior journalist and hockey historian K Arumugam was at a loss for words at Thyagarajan’s death. “I knew him for more than 30 years. He was rare, an all-round journalist. He was good at everything, not just hockey. He was a storyteller,” said Arumugam. “He was very well respected worldwide, his knowledge was very well recognised,” he said. Veteran Indian sports journalist S Sabnayakan, former president of the Sports Journalists Federation of India (SJFI) who worked with prominent newspapers such as The Hindu and The Telegraph, called Thyagarajan’s death an “irreparable loss” to the fraternity. “S Thyagarajan’s death is an irreparable loss to sports journalism. An expert in field hockey, Thagu as he was popularly known, created many youngsters in the profession. A prolific writer, his writing style was colorful and unique,” he said. “He was the president of the Sports Journalists Federation of India for a two-year term in 1996. He was also the head of the Tamil Nadu Sports Journalists’ Association for many years. He was also the chairman of the Field Hockey Commission of AIPS from 1998 to 2006. “He has covered 6 Olympics, nine Asian Games, nine Hockey World Cups and 20 Hockey Nationals in his illustrious career. In October 2024, he was felicitated by SJFI for his contribution to sports journalism,” he added. The Sports Journalists Federation of India has expressed grief over Thyagarajan’s death. President Saryu Chakraborty said, this death of sports journalism is an irreparable loss to the fraternity.
