PT Usha's coach OM Nambiar passes away at the age of 89

In 2021, Nambiar was honoured with Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award for an Indian. He also won the Dronacharya award in 1985.

Nambiar did his service with the Indian Air Force for 15 years and retired as a Sergeant in 1970.

He earned a coaching diploma from the NIS-Patiala in 1968 and joined the Kerala Sports Council in 1971. He was tasked with finding talented athletes in the state.

Besides Usha, he coached some of the international medal-winning athletes, including Shiny Wilson and Vandana Rao.

An Olympic medal for his most famous ward -- Usha -- was Nambiar's "lifetime dream".

The Keralite had a keen eye for talent, and he recognised Usha's natural abilities early. Nambiar mentored her through her teenage years and persuaded her to try out the 400m hurdles ahead of the 1984 Olympics as he thought PT Usha had a great chance of winning a medal. He was almost proved right.

Nambiar was honoured with the Dronacharya Award in 1985 and is still one of the most well-respected Indian athletics coaches. Nambiar was very concerned about and highly opposed to the use of performance-enhancing drugs. He indicated that athletic contests in India were rife with abuse because the testing and standards were so slack. He contended that was the reason that Indian athletes had such poor showings internationally, where things were much stricter.