Othayothu Madhavan Nambiar
Born(1932-02-16)16 February 1932
Vadakara, Kozhikode District, Kerala, British Raj
Died19 August 2021(2021-08-19) (aged 89)
Vadakara, Kozhikode District, Kerala, India

Othayothu Madhavan Nambiar (16 February 1932[1] – 19 August 2021)[2] was an Indian athletics coach who was awarded Dronacharya award in 1985 and Padma Shri in 2021.[3][4] He coached the well known Indian athlete P. T. Usha.

P. T. Usha

"For one who used to dream of wearing the India blazer as a sportsman in his Air Force days, O. M. Nambiar ended up becoming one of India's top coaches, a `Dronacharya' who was recognised for giving P. T. Usha to Indian athletics."[5] "Usha was a natural athlete. Coach O. M. Nambiar moulded her into one of the all-time greats of Asian athletics."[6]

About Usha's record-breaking win in the 200 meters at the Lucknow Senior Nationals, Nambiar said "It was laudable as her effort came a decade after she set the earlier mark at the Asian Track and Field Meet under my guidance."[7]

St. Stephens

As of 2005, Nambiar was serving as the senior coach of St. Stephen's International School in Hyderabad, Telangana.[5] He had two trainees there, Sekhar Bhattacharya and Sabik Ali, of whom he was confident that at least one of them will become outstanding.[5]

Views on drugs

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.[4][5] He contended that was the reason that Indian athletes had such poor showings internationally, where things were much stricter.[4]

Notes and references

  1. ^ ലേഖകൻ, മാധ്യമം (19 August 2021). "കായിക പരിശീലകൻ ഒ.എം. നമ്പ്യാർ അന്തരിച്ചു". madhyamam.com (in Malayalam). Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  2. ^ "PT Usha's coach OM Nambiar passes away". Mathrubhumi. 19 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  3. ^ Chakraborty, Samrat (26 January 2021). "Padma Shri for OM Nambiar: The guiding force behind the 'Payyoli Express'". Olympics.com. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  4. ^ a b c Kumar, P. K. Ajith (2 November 2011). "O.M. Nambikr – still raring to go". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 1 September 2015.
  5. ^ a b c d Suryanarayanan, S. R. (12 March 2005). "The passion to coach is still there". SportStar. Vol. 28, no. 11. Archived from the original on 25 March 2006.
  6. ^ Mohan, K. P. (29 December 2001). "Legend of Indian Sport, P. T. Usha: A name synonymous with achievement". SportStar. Vol. 24, no. 52. Archived from the original on 20 December 2002.
  7. ^ Menon, Ravi (20 September 1999). "Nambiar laments state of dope testing in Indian athletics". Indian Express. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012.


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