New Delhi, October 31: On this day, a year ago, the table tennis fraternity lost one of its pillars in S.M. Sultan to the dreaded Covid-19. Sultan, 61, admitted to a Vijayawada hospital, didn’t even know that his wife had passed away the previous day. Nor did he anticipate that his only son, also admitted to the Covid ward, would follow him to the grave just a day later.

Sultan and his family are survived by his only daughter, who is settled in Australia.

It was an unprecedented tragedy that stuck the entire family as one after the other succumbed to Covid-19. Four of his family members died, one after the other in a few days. First, it was his mother. Sultan and his family, without heeding the advice of the doctors, attended the burial of his mother at Machilipatnam, even as they were getting treated for Covid.

Apparently, things turned for the worst and, on their return, they were re-hospitalised. First Sultan’s wife died, and he didn’t have a clue. His condition worsened by the night, and he passed away the following morning, and his son knew nothing about it. And then his son followed him the next day.

Sultan, a successful practising lawyer then, was also the senior vice-president of TTFI. His contribution to the promotion of table tennis in then undivided Andhra Pradesh and his subsequent help to the newly-formed Telangana needs no publicity. Sultan not only commanded respect from his peers and youngsters as well but also raised the standards of the sport in his state during his tenure as Secretary of APTTA.

TTFI secretary general Arun Kumar Banerjee, recalling his long-standing association with Sultan, said: “It was an irreparable loss to all of us. Our president Dushyant (Chautala) Ji, my predecessor M.P. Singh, and CEO Dhanraj Choudhary fondly remember his warm smile even today. Sultan has left a big void that will be difficult to fill.”

Dushyant Chautala, in his remembrance message, said: “Sultan Ji will always be in our thoughts, forever. He is not in our midst physically, but his good deeds will keep our mind and heart occupied all the time.”

Last year also saw three top players of the country passing away, leaving the sport poorer. Of the three V. Chandrasekhar and Suhas Kulkarni were consumed by Covid while Manmeet Singh Wali—he died in Canada—fell victim to a rare disease.