KARACHI: Gul Hameed Bhatti, the doyen of sports journalism in Pakistan and Group Sports Editor ‘The News’, passed away on Thursday after a prolonged illness. He was 63.

Gul, the man who underlined the importance of statistics in sports journalism in Pakistan, was regarded as a legendary sports writers in Pakistan and was widely respected for his writings and extensive research on cricket and other games like hockey and athletics.

A sports lover, Gul joined Cricketer magazine in the early ’70s as its editor to start what was a long and fruitful journalistic career. In 1990, he took over as the Sports Editor of The News and was one of its key founding members. Later, he took charge as the editor of the paper but opted to return to head the sports department again.

He is survived by his children Kamil and Sara and daughter-in-law Samra. His Namaze-Janaza will be offered today (Friday) after Namaze-e-Juma at Masjid Abu Bakar Siddique, Bilawal Chowrangi, opposite National Sailing Centre, Clifton, Karachi.
Source: The News
Date:2/5/2010