Sports journalism lost one of its finest writers on Saturday midnight when A.T.P. Sarathy passed away at a suburban hospital in Bandra (East), in Mumbai. He had celebrated his 93rd birthday last Friday in the hospital. He is survived by two sons and two daughters, one of whom is A.T. Jayanti, Chief Editor, Deccan Chronicle. “He tested positive for malaria and was under treatment in the ICU. His end came because of lung infection and cardiac arrest,’’ said Vasu, his second son.
A graduate of the Annamalai University, A.T.P. Sarathy worked for Bombay Chronicle, Bombay Sentinel before his long association as Sports Editor of the Indian Express and thereafter 'The Daily.' He reported on hockey, football, and cue sport. He also wrote for 'The Hindu’ group’s Sport and Pastime, The Illustrated Weekly, under a pseudonym `PAT Sarte’. He was the author of the 93-page biography, "Billiards King, Wilson Jones’ in 1977.
He was also the president of the Sports Journalists’ Association of Bombay and Sports Journalists’ Federation of India.
"A.T.P. Sarathy was a top writer and a good old fashioned journalist. You don't find too many journos like him anymore. May his soul rest in peace," said Sunil Gavaskar, former India captain.
