'It can't be a more fine moment than umpiring at Tokyo Olympics'

Thiruvananthapuram, July 20 For Fine C. Dathan, there is not going to be a more fine moment for him, as he left for Tokyo on Tuesday to be an umpire at the Badminton event at Tokyo Olympics.

Dathan hails from a coastal village near the international airport in the state capital Thiruvananthapuram and has been a former Kerala University player. He is the only Indian among the 26 badminton officials who will be managing the event at Tokyo.

At present, he is an Associate Professor at the Physical Education department in the state-run Ayurveda College here and has been an umpire since 1994.

In the past, Dathan has officiated at the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, Thomas & Uber Cup, among others, and his selection in the Tokyo Olympics has been based on his exemplary past.

He is only one of the 50 persons who have been certified by the Badminton World Federation and has been inducted in the Elite panel since 2014.