KARACHI: Prominent Pakistani businessman and two-time Asian Games gold medalist Byram Dinshawji Avari passed away in Karachi on Sunday, his family said.
Avari, who hailed from the tiny Parsi community based in the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi, was the chairman of a leading hotel management company, the Avari Group, which owns and operates the 5-star Avari Towers and the Beach Luxury hotel in Karachi as well as a 5-star hotel in Lahore.
Avari, 81, had been ill for a long time and was under treatment at a private hospital. He is survived by his wife, Goshpi, and three children, Dinshaw, Xerxes and Zeena.
"With deep sorrow we announce the passing away of our dear beloved, Byram Dinshawji Avari, husband of Goshpi Avari, father of Dinshaw, Xerxes and Zeena, in Karachi on Sunday," the Avari family said in a statement.
"Paidus/funeral prayers will be held Khorshed Villa, inside the compound of Beach Luxury Hotel at 1pm on Monday."
Apart from being a leading businessman, Avari was a national-level sailor and won two Asian Games gold medals for Pakistan.
He won his first gold in enterprise-class yachting at the Asian Games in Bangkok in 1978, alongside Munir Sadiq.
Together with his wife Goshpi, Avari once again achieved the feat in New Delhi in 1982.
