The Hindu : Sport / Athletics : Ken Bosen passes away

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Feb 17, 2005

Sport

Sport - Athletics

Ken Bosen passes away

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, FEB. 16. Former National athletics coach, Ken O. Bosen, died at his Patiala residence early on Wednesday morning, following a heart attack.He was 74.

A prayer service will be held at Our Lady Fathima Church, Ajit Nagar, Patiala at 11 a.m. on Thursday. The funeral will be held thereafter.

"We have lost the most knowledgeable athletics coach in the country," said J. S. Saini, a former National coach and NIS chief coach, speaking from Patiala.

Over the years, Bosen had built up a reputation of being very thorough in his theoretical knowledge of the sport and coaching and training methods.

Bosen was wedded to the sport, lectured on it and conducted workshops in different parts of the world, including Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Korea, as a nominee of the International Federation (IAAF).

Author of several books, the best-known being `Training Without Straining', published in 1972, Bosen received official recognition at home rather belatedly. It came in the form of the Dronacharya Award in 2000.

"He was a great source of inspiration during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics as he was with me during every work-out," said Gurbachan Singh Randhawa, who finished fifth in 110m hurdles.

"It is a big loss to the athletics fraternity," said the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) Secretary, Lalit Bhanot.

"He was a great authority on field events," said Olympian distance runner Ranjit Bhatia.

Between 1969 and 1970 and then again from 1985 to 1986, Bosen was the chief National coach. Of course, almost whole through his career, after having joined the NIS, Patiala, in 1962, he was associated with Indian athletics in some capacity or the other.

Tamil Nadu connection

Bosen was a throws expert, but he was an acknowledged authority in pole vault as well. He had started out as a javelin thrower, during his school days at Stanes, Coimbatore, and Doveton Corie, Madras. In 1958, he tried his hand at decathlon also. He was the first Indian to throw the javelin past the 200-feet (60m) mark, in 1955.

A Southern Railway employee, he was the coach of the Indian Railways team from 1959 to 1962. Bosen maintained his links with Tamil Nadu despite being away in Patiala or other cities most of the time. He was a founder member of the Don Bosco Athletic Club with late Father McFerran and his disciple, well- known coach A. J. de Souza, and visited Chennai to direct several of the club's summer camps.

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