Veteran basketball player P Mathew Satya Babu died in Chennai on Thursday after a brief illness, his family confirmed to PTI. Babu, who was 79, is survived by his wife, a son and two daughters. The last rites of Babu will be under way on Friday.
Mathew Satya Babu had represented India in the Asian Basketball Championship in Seoul in South Korea in 1967, Bangkok in 1969 and Manila in 1970. He led India in the Asian Games in Bangkok in 1970 and was a qualified NIS basketball coach and a B panel Basketball Federation of India referee.
Babu had represented Andhra Pradesh in National Championships from 1962 to 1964 and Indian Railways from 1965 to 1975. He had represented the two teams in volleyball also.
He was a coach for the Indian Railways men and women teams in the national championships and had also mentored the Tamil Nadu state team. Former India captain Jayasankar Menon, who had been trained by Babu, praised his coaching abilities.
“I have been trained by him and won several titles including Federation Cup for Indian Bank. He was a very down-to-earth person and a wonderful coach,” Menon said.