Mohammad Ilyas Babar was an India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n athletic coach.

Babar was born in Gulbarga

Gulbarga

Gulbarga is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the administrative headquarters of Gulbarga District. It was formerly part of Nizam's Hyderabad state...

 in Karnataka

Karnataka

Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

. He became an outstanding university athlete in Hyderabad and was the state champion in 110m hurdles between 1950 and 1957, and in long jump. He graduated in commerce from the Osmania University

Osmania University

Osmania University , , since 1918, is a public university located in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India. It was established and named after the last Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan. It is one of the oldest modern universities in India. It is the first Indian University to have Urdu and...

.

He obtained a diploma in coaching from the National Institute of Sports in Patiala in 1961. He coached for a while in Secunderabad

Secunderabad

Secunderabad popularly known as the twin city of Hyderabad is located in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh north of Hyderabad. Named after Sikandar Jah, the third Nizam of the Asaf Jahi dynasty, Secunderabad was founded in 1806 AD as a British cantonment...

 before moving to Delhi

Delhi

Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...

. There he joined the Rajputana Rifles

Rajputana Rifles

The Rajputana Rifles is the most senior rifle regiment of the Indian Army. It was originally raised in 1921 as part of the British Indian Army, when six previously existing regiments were amalgamated together to form six battalions of the 6th Rajputana Rifles...

 and served until 1999.

His trainees included Jagmal Singh, BV Satyanarayana, BS Barua, Sriram Singh

Sriram Singh

Sriram Singh was an Indian middle distance runner.Sriram Singh joined Rajputana Rifles in 1968 where he came under the influence of the coach Ilyas Babar. Babar persuaded him to shift his focus from 400m to 800m....

, Tarlok Singh, Charles Borromeo

Charles Borromeo (athlete)

Charles Borromeo is a track and field athlete born at Devakottai in Tamil Nadu, India. He was awarded Arjuna Award in 1982 for winning gold at the 1982 Asian Games in Delhi at a record time of 1:46:81 seconds in India. His represented India in the 1984 Summer Olympics at Los Angeles...

, Bagicha Singh, Harlal Singh, Ram Narayan Singh and Geeta Zutshi

Geeta Zutshi

Geeta Zutshi is a former Indian athlete. She established several national and Asian running records in 800 m and 1500 m track events....

. Between them, they won 17 gold medals in Asian Games

Asian Games

The Asian Games, officially known as Asiad, is a multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until the 1978 Games. Since the 1982 Games they have been organised by the...

 and Asian Track and Field meets, three Padma Shri

Padma Shri

Padma Shri is the fourth highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan...

 and five Arjuna award

Arjuna award

The Arjuna Awards were instituted in 1961 by the government of India to recognize outstanding achievement in National sports. The award carries a cash prize of 500,000, a bronze statuette of Arjuna and a scroll....

s. Sriram Singh finished seventh in the 800m in the Montreal Olympics

1976 Summer Olympics

The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976. Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games on May 12, 1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, over the bids of Moscow and...

 and set an Indian record that still stands.

Babar was given the Dronacharya Award

Dronacharya Award

Dronacharya Award is an award presented by the government of India for excellence in sports coaching. The award comprises a bronze statuette of Dronacharya, a scroll of honour and a cash component of Rs.500,000...

 in 1994. In the 1978 Asian Games

1978 Asian Games

The 8th Asian Games were held from December 9, 1978 to December 20, 1978 in Bangkok, Thailand. Originally, the host city was Singapore but Singapore dropped its plan to host the Games due to financial problems. And then Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan was decided to host the 8th Games...

 in Bangkok

Bangkok

Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...

he was voted as the Best coach in Asia by a panel of international experts and presented with the Adidas Golden Shoe. He died three days after undergoing a surgery for stomach ulcer.