KOCHI: Olympian and 1978 Asian Games long jump gold medallist Suresh Babu died at a hospital in Ranchi Saturday. The 58-year old was in Ranchi as Kerala’s Chief de Mission for the 34th National Games in progress in Jharkhand. Staying at the Games Village, he was admitted to the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) after vomiting blood in the morning.
“He was put on a ventilator but his life could not be saved. He died at around 1.30 pm,” said Kerala State Athletics Association secretary M Velayudhankutty from Ranchi. His blood pressure fell to fatal levels. A native of Pattathanam, Kollam, Suresh Babu is survived by wife Leena, sons Sanev and Suresh and daughter Shilpa. “He had been suffering from liverrelated diseases for the last few years,” his brother Sathyanandan told Express from Thiruvananthapuram. “He had recovered from jaundice just three months ago.”
The national games organising committee held a condolence meeting at the Games village as a mark of respect to the departed athlete, who had also served as the chief national atheltics coach in the 1980. His body will be brought to Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday.
