Former India basketball captain Matthew Satya Babu dead

Veteran basketball player P Mathew Satya Babu died here on Thursday after a brief illness, family sources said. Babu,79, is survived by wife, a son and two daughters.

Mathew Satya Babu had represented India in the Asian Basketball Championship in Seoul in South Korea in 1967, Bangkok in 1969 and Manila in 1970. He led the country in the 6th Asian Games in Bangkok in 1970 and was a qualified NIS basketball coach and a 'B' panel Basketball Federation of India referee.

Babu had represented Andhra Pradesh in National Championships from 1962 to 1964 and Indian Railways from 1965 to 1975. He had represented the two teams in volleyball also. He was a coach for the Indian Railways men and women teams in the national championships and had also mentored the Tamil Nadu state team.

Former India captain Jayasankar Menon, who had been trained by Babu, said he was a down-to-earth person. "I have been trained by him and won several titles including Federation Cup for Indian Bank. He was a very down- to-earth person and a wonderful coach," Menon told PTI.

The last rites of Babu would be performed on Friday, family sources said..