S. Krishnan passes away

The Hindu’s former sports editor passed away on Saturday. He was 74 and is survived by his daughter, son-in-law and grandson.

A file photo of S. Krishnan.

S. Krishnan, The Hindu’s former sports editor, passed away here on Saturday. He was 74 and is survived by his daughter, son-in-law and grandson.

A grandson of Kasturi Srinivasan, The Hindu’s former Editor, Krishnan was an active sportsman in his youth and shone in cricket and tennis. He used to write a column on horse racing under the pseudonym Spotlight in the ‘Saturday Sports’ supplement during the 1970s before being appointed as the Sports Editor of  The Hindu in September, 1980. He was also in charge of Sportstar.

In a tenure that lasted more than two decades and concluded in December 2003, Krishnan shepherded The Hindu’s exhaustive sports coverage, mentored a fresh crop of correspondents, who became household names, and kept a fastidious eye on pictures.

He encouraged reporters to travel far and file despatches on sport ranging from cricket to kabaddi. If a local event was missed, be it basketball or snooker, there would be a stern call from him, seeking an explanation. His attention to detail was staggering and he also kept a close watch on horse racing.

Krishnan, at varying points, roped in some of Indian sport’s biggest names — Sunil Gavaskar, Prakash Padukone, Dilip Vengsarkar, Geet Sethi and K. Srikkanth, to write columns both in the daily and Sportstar magazine. After his retirement, he still scrutinised the pages and there would be the odd call either commending a good report or chastising an error on the page. As the managing editor of Sportstar, he ensured that the magazine remained vibrant and contemporary.

Major events like the Olympics and the Football and Cricket World Cups were given special treatment, both in the preview and review stages with Countdowns and Victory Specials, and were real Collector's editions. Sports fans simply lapped them up with print orders for these weekly issues ranging between 1.5 to 2.5 lakhs.

He will be missed.

The last rites would be held at the Besant Nagar crematorium on Sunday, May 5, at 9.30 a.m. The Sports Journalists Federation of India (SJFI) and the Tamil Nadu Sports Journalists Association (TNSJA) condoled Krishnan’s demise.