Coach Nilamadhab Deo (left) receives Biju Patnaik Sports Award in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, March 10: From an arts and law background to becoming a sports guru, athletics coach Nilamadhab Deo owns the credit of having groomed some of the best athletes Orissa has produced.

Deo on Sunday won the Biju Patnaik Sports Award for Outstanding Coach for 2008.

Being a versatile athlete who excelled in various fields of sports, Deo feels his profession is such that it brings contentment to the soul.

“I loved to play football and also represented the state in a few matches. At the same time, I was a good basketball player,” says Deo. Although he excelled in studies, his passion for sports remained persistent.

Deo thus obtained a diploma in coaching, specialising in athletics, from Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports, Patiala, the largest sports institute in Asia.

He has been serving as an athletic coach in the department of sports and youth services since 1984.

“Had I pursued academics, I might have landed up into a highly paid job. But the last 27 years of my journey in coaching have given me rich dividends like nothing else could have,” says Deo.

Under his dedicated efforts and guidance, many of his trainees have emerged as champions at national and international competitions.

The most recent name in the list of his successful trainees includes athlete Srabani Nanda, who bagged a bronze in last year’s Commonwealth Games.

Other names include young athlete Namita Kabat, who won the girls’ 800m gold medal in the 6th National Youth Athletics Championship in 2009 and also an 800m gold medal in the first Asian Youth Games at Singapore the same year.

Amiya Mallick, who was ranked India No. 1 in men’s 200-metre sprint in 2009, and national gold medallist Duti Chand have also been trained by him.

“He instills a sense of passion for victory and inspires to raise the bar apart from giving us a perfect training schedule. He is the perfect coach and I respect him a lot,” says Kabat.

After having groomed so many achievers, when asked about his dreams, coach Deo, says: “I know my students have the talent and I wish to see them succeed in the Olympics.”