KOCHI: Before Neeraj Chopra's historic gold for India in athletics at the Tokyo Games, one of the athletes who agonisingly came close to a medal in track and field events at the Olympics was 'Golden Girl' PT Usha.
Considered one of the greatest athletes that the country has produced, Usha had missed the bronze medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Games by one-hundredth of a second.
After Neeraj's exploits, Usha talked about how the 23-year-old had completed her 'unfinished dream'. But it was not just her unfulfilled dream but that of her coach OM Nambiar too.
The veteran coach, who unearthed PT Usha, passed away on Thursday at his residence in Vadakkara, Kerala.
Nambiar, who has been battling Parkinson's disease for some time, was 89. In fact, Usha had recently met him to check on his health and also to discuss how India had finally won a medal in athletics at the Olympics.
The sprint legend took to Twitter to pay tributes to her mentor, coach and guide.
"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 tweeted.
Usha and Nambiar were one of the most popular coach-athlete pairs and his fame spread far and wide as the Payyoli Express kept on setting the track on fire.
Nambiar was conferred the Padma Shri earlier this year and he is also the recipient of the Dronacharya award that he received way back in 1985.
The former Air Force man, an athlete himself, was instrumental in making Usha focus on the 400m hurdles for the 1984 Olympics.
That decision nearly won Usha and India an Olympics medal and highlighted the importance that coaches play in the lives of sportspersons.
"I think the whole country knows about the legendary combination of PT Usha and OM Nambiar. He played a major part in spotting her talent and then nurturing it. His contribution underlines just how important a role coaches play in the lives of athletes. And now Usha is taking the legacy forward by being a coach herself and running the Usha School of Athletics to produce future athletes," said Ajanachandran PA who is the general secretary of the Usha School.