India`s first Dronacharya awardee coach in boxing, O P Bhardwaj, died on Friday after battling prolonged illness and age-related issues here. He was 82 and had tragically lost his wife Santosh to ill-health about 10 days ago. Bhardwaj was bestowed the highest national honour in coaching jointly with Bhalchandra Bhaskar Bhagwat (wrestling) and O M Nambiar (athletics), when it was introduced in 1985.

"He had been unwell for many days with a lot of health issues and was hospitalised. Age was a factor and there was also the shock of losing his wife about 10 days back," T L Gupta, a close family friend and a former boxing coach, told PTI. Bhardwaj was India`s national boxing coach from 1968 to 1989 and also served as a national selector. Under his tutelage, Indian pugilists won medals at the Asian Games, the Commonwealth Games and the South Asian Games.