A tragic end for footballer Sathyan

Calicut: Former Indian football captain VP Sathyan committed suicide in Chennai on Tuesday by jumping in front of a train.

Sathyan had played for India for 15 years and was actively involved with the game as a coach.

He committed suicide at Pallavaram in Chennai which, is a busy station on the suburban network.

As a footballer, VP Sathyan had dodged many challenges but the scourge of drinking and gambling proved to be insurmountable.

He left behind a grieving wife, a 10 year-old daughter and some unanswered questions.

"He would've lost some money, but not such big money as in lakhs. Not so much that he should feel so sad and end his life this way. Not at all. Plus, we all were here to help him out. I don't know. Maybe it's a decision done on the spur of the moment. But what he's done is foolish," the sports officer in Indian Bank and a friend DV Sundar says.

In his prime, Sathyan was a much admired footballer. He also skippered India and won the Santosh Trophy and the Federation Cup.

He was also an assistant coach of the national team but his suicide note reveals that he was a broken man.

"His worry and anxiety was only about his parents. He always said 'when I was young I decided I would always take care of my parents when they're old'. But now based in Chennai, he could not take care of his parents," another friend Ashok Kumar says.

Sathyan played nearly 80 matches for India and even served as an assistant coach of the national team.

But why an Indian footballer of such caliber must end his life in such a gruesome way.

"When Sathyan was playing there was no money in the game. The fact that professional funding started coming after he left made him very unhappy," former Indian skipper and another close friend,IM Vijayan, says

There is also talk of organising a benefit match for Sathyan in his home state of Kerala.

(With inputs from Rohini Mohan and Saji Nair)

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