Former archery coach D.K Sarkar (Habul Da) passed away at his residence in Aam Bagan, Sakchi on Thursday.

The 70-year-old Sarkar, affectionately called 'Habul da' in steel city's archery fraternity, was sick for some months and was undergoing treatment at Tata Main Hospital. He returned home around 10 days ago and breathed his last this morning.

He is survived by his wife and a daughter.

A former secretary of Bihar Archery Association (BAA), Sarkar played a pivatol role in producing several national level archers. He was instrumental in setting up an archery training centre at Burmanines locality of the city. Most of the archers from the steel city learnt the nuances of archery under the tutelage of Sarkar who was a hard working and soft-spoken person.

The likes of archery coaches and Dronacharya awardees Purnima Mahto and Dharmendra Tiwary also learnt the initial lessons of archery under Sarkar

A pall of gloom descended on the city’s archery circle as soon as news of Sarkar’s death poured in.

“He (Sarkar) was our guru. We took baby steps in archery under his guidance. I will really miss him. May the almighty give peace to the departed soul,” said Harendra Singh, coach and a member of Talent Identification Zonal Committee of East Zone for the Khelo India identification programme.

Former footballer no more

In another sad news for the sports fraternity, former state level footballer and referee Nirmal Sahu passed away on Wednesday evening.

He was sick for some days and died at Tata Motors Hospital. Sahu (45), who worked for the Railways in Jamshedpur , played the local Jamshedpur Sporting Association (JSA) football league for Mohammedan Sporting, South Eastern Railways Sports Association (SERSA) and also officiated as a referee. He was a dedicated footballer.

JSA secretary Avinash Kumar, former FIFA referee Binod Kumar Singh and ex-secretary of SERSA PS Chatterjee condoled the sudden demise of Sahu.