Dronacharya Awardee coach OM Nambiar, who gave India a flight like PT Usha, died on Thursday. He was 89 years old. After a long wait, he was given the Padma Shri award this year. At the same time, after the performance of PT Usha in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, she was given the Dronacharya Award in 1985.
Apart from PT Usha, Nambiar also coached Shiney Wilson who participated in four Olympics. He won the gold medal in the 800 meters at the 1985 Asian Championships. At the same time, he was also the coach of the country's legendary athlete Vandana Rao. He did a Diploma in Coaching from NIS Patiala in 1968 and joined the Kerala Sports Council in 1971.
The biggest dream was to get PT Usha an Olympic medal
Her biggest dream was to get an Olympic medal for her most famous disciple, Usha, although she missed out on a bronze at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics by a narrow margin. Recently she said in an interview, 'I cried a lot when I came to know that in the 400 meters hurdles in the 1984 Olympics, Usha missed out on a medal by one hundredth of a second. I kept on crying. I can never forget that moment. Usha's Olympic medal was the biggest dream of my life.
When he was selected for the Padma Shri after a long wait of 35 years this year, he said, "I get immense satisfaction from every medal won by my disciples. Dronacharya Award, Best Asian Coach Award and now Padma Shri is the result of my hard work and dedication.
After the player, Nambiar started a new innings as a coach.
Born in a small village near Payyoli in Kannur, Kerala (incidentally this is also the birth place of PT Usha) Nambiar was a champion athlete during his college days. The principal of his college advised Nambiar to join the army and pursue a career in athletics. Despite all the efforts, he could not represent India at the international level. In such a situation, he chose the path of coaching, ending his career as an athlete.
Nambiar wanted to fulfill his dreams through the talents produced by him. After his coaching diploma, GV Raja, known for his sports work in Kerala, invited him to come to Kerala to intensify the state's athletes. In 1970, he took over as a coach in the Kerala Sports Council. It was here in 1976 that he got PT Usha and the journey of both started.
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