New Delhi: T.D. Ranga Ramanujan, one of India's erstwhile top sports administrators and founding member of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), passed away on Monday at the age of 95.
He died at his son's place in Hyderabad in the wee hours of Monday.
Ranga, as he is fondly remembered in the table tennis fraternity, is survived by his wife and five children, including three daughters and two sons.
Ranga was instrumental in organising two World Table Tennis Championships in Mumbai (1952) and Kolkata (1975), at a time when not many could think of staging major international championships.
"He died due to age related illness more than anything else. He stayed fit throughout his life and attended most of the Olympics and World Championships since the 1940s," Ranga's youngest son Ramdas told IANS from Hyderabad.
His passion for the game was such that he defied age to attend the London Olympics last year.
Ranga, considered the father of Indian table tennis, was at the helm of Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) as its president/secretary for four decades. He had also held the position of vice-president of the ITTF for a number of years. He had been serving as an advisor to ITTF besides being the life president of the Asian Table Tennis Union (ATTU).
