Former AITA treasurer T.D. Francis passes away at 78

T.D. Francis, a former treasurer of the All India Tennis Association and former secretary of the Kerala Tennis Association, passed away in Thrissur on Tuesday night. He was 78.

Francis was a good sports administrator and one of Kerala’s finest sports organisers, and it was not just in tennis.

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Kerala hosted eight Satellite international tennis tournaments, many of them on new courts.

A former professor of physical education at St. Aloysius College, Elthruth in Thrissur, Francis was also instrumental in Thrissur hosting football’s Santosh Trophy and Federation Cup and many other prominent tournaments in other sports, and his efforts came in for much praise.

He had also travelled over the world as manager of Indian tennis teams for many international tournaments.