New Delhi: Sprint queen PT Usha's coach OM Nambiar passed away on Thursday. He was 89.
Anguished by his death, PT Usha stated that the void left behind by the coach can never be filled. "The passing of my guru, my coach, my guiding light is going to leave a void that can never be filled. Words cannot express his contribution to my life. Anguished by the grief. Will miss you OM Nambiar sir. RIP," she wrote on her twitter handle.
Taking to Twitter, Athletics Federation of India wrote: "Sad to inform that Dronacharya Awardee coach OM Nambiar sir passed away a while back. He was coach of @PTUshaOfficial RIP Nambiar Sir, You gave us the Golden Girl. Your contribution to sports in India has been tremendous. Our condolences to the family- AFI President @Adille1," AFI tweeted.
He is often remembered as one of India’s first Dronacharya awardee.
In 2021, Nambiar was conferred with the Padma Shri – India’s fourth-highest civilian award.
Born in 1932 in a small village near Payyoli in Kannur, Kerala - incidentally also PT Usha’s native place – Othayothu Madhavan Nambiar was a track and field athlete since his college days.
OM Nambiar joined the Indian Air Force in 1955 and continued his athletics career, representing the Services.
Despite various successes at national meets, his dream of representing India remained an unfulfilled dream during his athletics career.
As a coach, though, Nambiar lived that dream and much more.
OM Nambiar earned his coaching degree from the famed National Institute of Sports (NIS) in Patiala and began his career by training athletes from the Services (Army, Navy, Air Force).
He came back to his native state in 1970 after taking up an offer to serve as a coach for the Kerala Sports Council.
It was during this stint that OM Nambiar spotted PT Usha while attending the prize distribution ceremony after the selection trials for the Kannur division in 1976.
What followed was an incredible student-teacher relationship that propelled PT Usha to become one of the leading Asian sprinters of her era.
In fact, it was on Nambiar’s instance that PT Usha famously participated in the 400m hurdles at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, where she lost out on the bronze medal by 1/100th of a second but cemented her place in Indian athletics folklore. (UNI)
