Athletics Federation of India (AFI) on Friday appointed the vastly experienced Radhakrishnan Nair as its full-time Chief Coach, filling the post left vacant after the resignation of Bahadur Singh in July. The 62-year-old Nair was the Acting Chief Coach of Indian Athletics since then.

AFI President Adille Sumariwalla expressed confidence that Nair would be able to guide Indian athletes to greater heights. “We are happy we will be able to maintain continuity of our planning since Radhakrishnan has been the Deputy Chief Coach for seven years now,” he said in an AFI release.

Nair, who is also a certified Technical Official and World Athletics Level-5 Coach, has been instrumental in enhancing the coaches’ education system in India. He is the first Indian to have an International Coaching Enrichment Programme Certificate of the International Olympic Committee.

“We are particularly pleased that his ideas of implementation of modern coaching methods and the use of sports science in the development of young athletes have worked well,” said Sumariwalla.

“At the AFI, we believe he will also continue to work towards improving the standard of coaching across the country, especially at the grassroots level, with his stress against early specialisation and over-training.”

Nair’s appointment as Chief Coach has been endorsed by the Sports Authority of India (SAI), the AFI said.