KUALA LUMPUR: The national football arena is in mourning following the death of former Harimau Malaya B squad coach B. Sathianathan today.
Sathianathan's passing was confirmed by FIFA media officer and Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) executive committee member Christopher Raj.
"Rest in Peace, Anna ('brother' in Tamil). You fought a good fight," Christopher tweeted.
When contacted, Christopher said Sathianathan had passed away at 1.25pm at the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (PPUM) here.
In June last year, the experienced coach had to take a leave of absence from his position at Sarawak United to undergo medical treatment.
Sathianathan was often sought out by sportswriters for his views on issues in the local football arena.
He made his foray into coaching in 1992 with the Negri Sembilan team for the Gold Cup competition.
Thereafter, he joined FAM as assistant coach for the national Olympic squad from 1997 to 1999 and from 2002 to 2004.
Among the highlights of his long career was his appointment as coach for the Harimau Malaya squad from 2007 to 2009.
Prior to that he had coached the national Under-23 squad, which emerged as champions of the Merdeka tournament in 2007.
In the M-League, the former national footballer achieved success with a few teams, including Kelantan which won the Malaysia Cup in 2010, the Armed Forces (2012 Premier League champions) and Felda United (2018 Premier League champions).
Sathianathan was named the league's best coach at the national football awards in 2010, 2012 and 2017.