From Mary to Sarita: Dronacharya Sagar is 'Mentor' to all

India's women pugilists.

The 48-year-old little-known coach based in Jaipur will be conferred the honour at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on August 29 -- hockey wizard Dhyanchand's birth anniversary also celebrated as the National Sports Day.

Dayal, a boxer himself before becoming a coach in 1995, has been on the Indian Railways roster for more than 20 years and came on board the support staff of the national women's boxing team 10 years ago.

"I am thankful for this honour, especially to the women boxers, who thought I deserved it. I have worked with a lot of them, from Mary Kom to Pinki Rani (Commonwealth Games bronze-medallist)," Dayal told PTI in an interview.

He has largely been understated in his coaching career except for the infamous 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, where Sarita Devi hit the international headlines for refusing to accept her bronze medal after a controversial semifinal loss.

She had broken down immediately after the defeat to Jina Park, the local favourite, and had protested vehemently in front of the judges. Dayal recalled how he had stood alongside Sarita at that moment, a claim acknowledged by the boxer herself. MC Mary Kom's "sparring partner", "father figure" to L Sarita Devi during her 2014 Asian Games meltdown, this year's Dronacharya awardee in boxing Sagar Mal Dayal has been a man with many roles in his 10-year coaching stint with