Athletics coach Purushotham Rai, selected for Dronacharya Award, dies day before virtual awards ceremony

Veteran athletics coach Purushotham Rai died due to a cardiac arrest on Friday, tragically a day before he was to be conferred with the prestigious Dronacharya Award. He was 79.

“He took part in the rehearsal for the National Sports Awards but later suffered heart attack and passed away,” a top AFI official told PTI.

The National Sports Awards ceremony will be held virtually on Saturday due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Rai was to receive the Dronacharya Award from President Ram Nath Kovind in the lifetime category. He coached top athletes such as Olympian quarter-miler Vandana Rao, heptathlete Pramila Aiyappa, Ashwini Nachappa, Murali Kuttan, MK Asha, EB Shyla, Rosa Kutty and GG Pramila.

“It is a tragic incident and we at AFI are shocked. He spent his whole life for athletics and he made immense contribution to Indian athletics. We condole his tragic demise and express our condolences to his family,” said AFI president Adille Sumariwalla.

Rai began his coaching career after securing a diploma from the Netaji Institute of Sports in 1974. “He was a good coach under whom many top Indian athletes including many Olympians had trained. It is such a sad incident to pass away just a day before receiving the award,” said former long-jumper Anju Booby George, one of India’s athletics great.

Rai also coached the Indian team for the 1987 World Athletics Championship, 1988 Asian Track and Field Championships and 1999 SAF Games. He was also involved in coaching roles at Services, Department of Youth Empowerment & Sports (DYES), and Sports Authority of India (SAI).