Lucknow4 April. Senior sports journalist and former sports editor of English daily ‘Times of India’ Lucknow, Santosh Suri, died on Saturday due to a heart attack. According to family members, 68-year-old Suri complained of chest pain at around 3 am on Saturday morning. He was taken to Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in Gomtinagar, where doctors declared him dead.

In the world of sports journalism Suri had the identity of ‘Perfect Gentleman’

Santosh Suri, who is known as the ‘Perfect Gentleman’ in the world of sports journalism, is survived by his wife Gloria and daughter Nikita. The last rites of the late journalist were performed today at Baikunth Dham in Gomti Nagar. During this, a large number of journalists and personalities from the sports world paid tribute to him with tearful eyes.

Santosh Suri was associated with the Lucknow edition of ‘Times of India’ in 1984, however, after retirement in 2016, he joined ‘Mid Day’ and was continuously reporting cricket. On April 1 itself, he had also covered the Lucknow Super Giants vs Delhi Capitals match played under the Indian Premier League at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium.

Due to its deep understanding of cricket and cricketers, UP was called the encyclopedia of cricket.

In a journalism career spanning nearly four decades, he covered many international cricket competitions including the Cricket World Cup. Suri had the expertise to analyze every small and big incident to the sports world in a simple and accurate manner. He had such deep knowledge about Uttar Pradesh cricket and its many budding cricketers that he was called the Encyclopedia of UP Cricket. His colleagues and senior journalists Asim Mukherjee and Syed Saboor Mohammad say that Suri wanted to write a book on UP cricket.

Berlin-born Suri learned the art of journalism in Bengaluru.

Born in 1958 in Berlin, Germany, Suri learned the art of journalism in Bengaluru. However, he also spent a lot of time in Jamnagar in Gujarat and Patiala in Punjab. Apart from journalism, Suri was also fond of playing cricket. Apart from school cricket, he had represented many cricket clubs as a medium fast bowler. He also played cricket with former Indian batsman Navjot Singh Sidhu while playing for the District Cricket Association (DCA) XI in the popular Sheeshmahal Cricket Tournament in the 90s, he dismissed Ajay Jadeja for a duck.

Many young journalists learned the nuances to sports journalism under the guidance of Santosh Suri, who is very popular among sports journalists across the country. Sports journalist associations and personalities associated with the sports world have expressed condolences on the demise of the senior journalist.