short essay on pt usha in english

English Essay on “P.T. Usha-The Golden Girl” Full-length Paragraph, Speech for Class 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12 Exams.

P.t. usha-the golden girl.

P.T. Usha was born in 1964 in Melady, a tiny village in Kerala. She was a weak, sickly child and therefore was never expected to do anything related to ‘sports’ in particular, which required a great deal of energy

But an uncle on her mother’s side noticed Usha’s talent and made sure she joined Kerala’s Sports Training Scheme. Under the guidance of a dedicated coach, O.M. Nambiar, Usha won silver, medals in the 100 meters and 200 meters sprints at the New Delhi Asian Games in 1982.

Since then Usha won gold medals in virtually every individual event she entered in Asian women’s track and field athletics. Her greatest victory being the Seoul Asian Games in 1986 when she won gold medals in four events).

Usha narrowly missed being the only Indian woman athlete ever to win an Olympic medal, when to her great disappointment she wat- beaten to fourth place by one-hundredth-of-a-second in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics 400 meters. Hurdles event. Seoul Olympics (1988) was a tremendous disappointment for Usha and she gave up sports bidding goodbye to tracks in Beijing wherein the 1990 Asian Games; she could not win a single gold. It is said, that the Golden, girl retired without a gold medal.

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(born 1964). Indian track-and-field athlete P.T. Usha was the first Indian woman to reach the final of an Olympic athletics event. At the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, California, she placed fourth in the 400-meter hurdles.

Pilavullakandi Thekkeparambil Usha was born on June 27, 1964, in the village of Payyoli in Kerala state, India. Her performance at India’s National School Games in 1979 attracted the attention of prominent athletics coach O.M. Nambiar, who thereafter helped guide her career. Usha competed at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, U.S.S.R. (now Moscow, Russia), and two years later, at the Asian Games in New Delhi, India, where she claimed silver medals in the 100- and 200-meter sprints. She narrowly lost the bronze medal in the 400-meter hurdles at the 1984 Olympics, missing out on third place by one hundredth of a second.

At the 1986 Asian Games in Seoul, South Korea, Usha won gold medals in the 200 meters, 400 meters, 400-meter hurdles, and the 4 × 400-meter relay as well as a silver medal in the 100-meter sprint. She also participated in the 1988 Olympics in Seoul and the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. At the 1998 Asian Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, Usha won a gold medal in the 4 × 100-meter relay, a silver medal in the 4 × 400-meter relay, and bronze medals in the 200- and 400-meter races.

After retiring in 1999, Usha founded a sports academy, the Usha School of Athletics, near Kozhikode, India. She was awarded the Padma Shri, one of India’s highest civilian honors, in 1985.

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As PT Usha turns 54, 10 facts about the golden girl of Indian athletics

It’s pt usha’s birthday today. and what better time to revisit those golden memories when the payyoli express did india proud with her many achievements on the track..

Thursday June 27, 2019 , 4 min Read

PT Usha. Pic credit - PT Usha official Facebook page

The name PT Usha brings up many memories and a surge of pride among Indians. Pilavullakandi Thekkeparambil Usha, or PT Usha as she was fondly called, was the toast of Indian athletics throughout the 70s, 80s, and 90s.

Who can forget her spectacular performance in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics where she became the first Indian to reach the finals of the 400m hurdles, but lost the bronze by one-hundredth of a second?

This was a stupendous achievement for an Indian, and a woman, at that time and many newborns were named after her in the country.

However, Usha’s life has been one of struggle. Hailing from a small village, Payyoli, in Kerala’s Kozhikode district, she had to battle constant sickness as a child, and later stereotypes as she moved to the world stage. Her coach, OM Nambiar , has been instrumental in Usha’s rise to success, and whom she credits for her tenacity on the track.

On PT Usha’s 54th birthday today, we pay tribute to the woman and athlete who has done us all proud with her numerous achievements and continues to inspire and train athletes at Usha School in Kozhikode , Kerala.

Here are 10 ways in which the athlete inspires us with her life story and mission.

• Usha is a girl from a small town, but with big dreams. Though troubled by illnesses as a child, she was first noticed in school when she was in Class IV and asked to run with the school champion (who was in Grade VII). She came first, and the rest - as they say - is history.
• Her parents, Paithel and Lakshmi, had no idea of athletics. It was her uncle who asked to keenly pursue the sport. The idea was that she could then get a job as a sports instructor. But the girl just ran and ran her way into the record books. In 1980, she participated in the National Pakistan Games at Karachi where she won the 100m and 200m. By then, OM Nambiar had spotter her talent and took on the role of a personal coach.
• She entered the Moscow Olympics as the youngest athlete. Though disappointment awaited her, she made up for the loss by bagging two silver medals at the Asiad held in New Delhi in 1982. Usha had arrived, and how!
• The 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles brought both heartbreak and recognition for the athlete. After racing through the semi-finals, Usha lost the bronze by one-hundredth of a second. This followed after one of her competitors had a false start, which was said to have “broken her rhythm” as she got off the blocks a bit slower.
• But the near-win at the Olympics catapulted Usha into the limelight. She was dubbed Payyoli Express and became famous overnight. A road in Kochi was named after her, and so were many newborns.
• Despite her disappointment, Usha was raring to go. She blazed a trail at the 1986 Asian Games at Seoul where she won 200m, 400m, 400m hurdles, and the 4x400m relay. It was a complete sweep, and proved that failure was indeed the stepping stone to success. The same happened at the 1985 Track and Field Championships in Jakarta.
• In 1991, she married N Srinivasan, a CISF inspector, and subsequently settled down to family life. The couple has a son, Ujjwal. By the end of her career, Usha had won 101 international medals. She is now employed as an officer in the Southern Railways.
• Not content with just family life and a 9-5 routine, Usha decided to venture into athletics again, though in a different direction. She started the Usha School of Athletics in Kozhikode district in Kerala, an organisation dedicated to advancing promotion and practice of sports with state-of-the-art facilities.
• Athlete Tintu Luka is a product of the Usha School of Athletics. She is the national record holder in the 800m, the Asian Games silver medallist at Incheon 2014, and the Asian champion in Wuhan China in 2015. She also won the gold medal at the Asian Athletics Championship in 2016.
• She has trained 90 girls so far, who have all trained under her watchful eyes and gained from her expertise. Usha’s goal is to produce an Olympian from her school. Rumour also has it Bollywood is producing a biopic on the athlete.

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PT Usha: India’s Golden Girl of Athletics

Having entered track and field athletics at the age of 16, she is credited with popularising the sport across india. though usha retired in the year 2000, her records remain unmatched till date. she stays connected with the field through her athletics training school..

Daughter of EPM Paithal and TV Lakshmi, Pilavullakandi Thekkeparambil Usha was born on June 27, 1964, in Koothali in Kozhikode, Kerala. She was brought up in Thrikottur, and later lived in Payyoli. During childhood, she witnessed poverty and battled ill health at various stages. Her fate changed in 1976 when the Kerala government began a women’s sports division in Kannur, where Usha began training under coach OM Nambiar.

Early Career

Young Usha was a quick learner. In 1978, she won six medals at the inter-state meet for juniors. In the same year, she won 14 medals at the Kerala State college meet. She won the individual championship in the 1979 National School Games. In 1980, she made her international debut in Karachi, at the Pakistan Open National Meet in which she won four gold medals. She made her Olympic debut in the 1980 Moscow Games, however, she finished a lowly fifth in the 100m race.

Winning Streak

Usha immediately made a comeback in 1982, during the World Junior Athletics Championship in Seoul, South Korea, where she won the 200m and secured a bronze in the 100m. Her most glorious performance occurred at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, where she won the 400m hurdles heats. She missed a chance to win India’s first track-and-field bronze in 400m hurdles by a mere 1/100th of a second. Her coach attributed to the second start that spoiled her rhythm.

Bouncing back at the 1985 Asian Championship in Jakarta, Usha won six medals to set a record for the most gold medals won at a single event in the championship. In the 1986 Asian Games, Seoul, she struck golds in the 200m, 400m and 4X400m relay, with new game records. She also settled for the 100m silver , having lost to arch rival Lydia de Vega.

Overcoming Injuries

Usha suffered from a heel injury during the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Despite the pain, she pushed herself to run but failed to make it to the final. She recovered and participated in the 1989 Asian Track and Field Meet where she won four golds. Usha wanted to retire the same year but decided to compete in the Beijing Asian Games where she won three medals. In 1991, she married V Srinivasan and the couple was blessed with a son in 1992. Usha returned to the track for the 1998 Asian Track and Field meet in Japan where she set a new national record in the 200m race (23.27s).

After retirement from competitive sport, India’s first sportswoman to enter an Olympic final, opened the Usha School of Athletics – a nonprofit organisation that trains future athletes. She has won the Arjuna Award (1983), the Padma Shri (1985) and was named Sportsperson of the Century as well as Sportswoman of the Millennium by the Indian Olympic Association. With 101 medals to her name, Usha’s legacy remains unmatched.

Interesting Facts:

1. Young PT Usha was a bright student during her school years, and her parents thought that she would become a teacher like her mother. Initially, her father was apprehensive of her taking up sports as he didn’t want her to get injured and knew very little about the world of sports.

2. In 1983, when PT Usha requested that OM Nambiar be her coach, the government approved her request. As a result, she became India’s first athlete to have a personal coach. Nambiar was always proud of Usha’s potential and performance, and credits his own popularity to the athlete.

3. AK Kutty, who coached athlete MD Valsamma, made a statement that if Valsamma had trained on a synthetic track, she would have beaten Usha. The latter took this as a challenge, she kept the media clipping under her pillow and used it to motivate herself before the 1984 Olympics.

4. At the 1985 Asian Meet in Jakarta, Usha’s arch rival at the time, Lydia de Vega as well as her father continuously complained about the Indian sprinter after every race, suspicious of her wins. Even though Usha was subjected to dope tests after each race, she won five golds and a bronze.

5. PT Usha’s record as an athlete remains unmatched even till date. Due to her performance and contribution to track and field, she has been given several nicknames over the years including Payyoli Express and Golden Girl, as well as the title ‘Queen of Indian track and field’

Sources: ptusha.org, IAAF.org & media reports

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Essay, Biography or Paragraph on “P T Usha” complete biography for Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

India : Flying Queen

Birth :1964

Pilavulakandi Thekkeparambil Usha has emerged as the most outstanding Indian woman athlete of the 1980s. In the recent years she has brought much glory and honour to her country in the field of sports, and in fame she has outdone many other Indian women athletes till date. Usha, in fact, at present is the best runner of Aisa. In the 10th Asiad held at Seoul in 1986, P.T. Usha kept the flag of India flying high by winning 4 gold and 1 silver medals in the track and field events. Her performance at the Seoul Asiad becomes all the more commendable for the reason that out of a total of 5 gold medals won by India, Usha’s share is of 4. Usha’s was the greatest medal tally of a single athlete in the track and field events n 1986 Asiad. Usha’s success story begins from the 1982 Asiad in which she won two gold medals, in 100 metres and 200 metres respectively and since then, Usha has run from one success to another. At the National level athletic meets she has repeatedly given her best performances. At the Los Angles Olympics held in 1984, Usha slightly missed a medal and she had to remain content with 4th place only. Yet, she was the first Indian woman runner to have the honour of coming at the 4th place in the history of Olympics.

P.T. Usha was born in Kerala in 1964. When she was just 12, she joined a sports school at Cannanore where she received guidance and training from O.P. Nambiar, who is still her coach. It is due to the help, guidance and encouragment from her coach O.P. Nambiar, that Usha could become what she is today. At present P.T. Usha is employed as an officer in the Southern Railway. Despite being busy, Usha has made a place in sports which is second to none by dint of her strong will. power and hard work. Country has high expectations from her in future.

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P.T. Usha Biography: Records, Education, Medals, Age, family and other details

P.t. usha, a legendary former indian sprinter is set to become the first woman president of the indian olympic association (ioa). check p.t. usha's records, education, medals, age, family, and other details here. .

PT Usha Records:  The Legendary former Indian Sprinter PT Usha is set to become the first woman President of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). She emerged as the lone candidate for the top post in IOA for the elections that are scheduled to be held on December 10, 2022. With this achievement, she will be the first Olympian and the first international medallist to head the association in its 95-year-old history.

Earlier on July 6, 2022, the Government of India had nominated the celebrated athlete PT Usha to the Rajya Sabha. Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated her via Twitter and highlighted her accomplishments in sports. He also noted that her work to mentor budding athletes over the last few years is also equally commendable.

PT Usha, since her retirement in 2000, has been a constant presence at the national track and field meets along with her trainees from the Usha School of Athletics based in Kinalur in Kerala’s Kozhikode. Tintu Luka, the current 800 meters national record holder as well as an Asian Games medalist, is the most famous product of Usha’s athletics school.

Congratulations to legendary Golden Girl, Smt. P T Usha on being elected as the President of Indian Olympic Association. I also congratulate all the sporting heroes of our country on becoming the office bearers of the prestigious IOA! Nation is proud of them ! pic.twitter.com/LSHHdmMy9H — Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) November 27, 2022

PT Usha Biography

PT Usha Early Life

Pt usha personal life, pt usha career.

P.T. Usha was first noticed by O.M. Nambiar, an athletics coach at a sports prize-distribution ceremony in 1977 and in the same he began coaching her. Quick results were followed after she won six medals at the inter-state meet for juniors, in Kollam in 1978. It included four gold medals in 100 m, 200 m, 60 m hurdles and high jump, silver in long jump, and bronze in 4x100 m relay.

PT Usha’s best moment came at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. She entered on the back of a string of good performances at the year’s New Delhi inter-state meet and Mumbai Open National Championships. In the 1985 Jakarta Asian Championships, she won 6 medals- five Gold and one Bronze.

From 1983-89, PT Usha garnered 13 Gold Medals at ATF meets. In the 10th Asian Games held at Seoul, South Korea in 1986, PT Usha won 4 gold medals and 1 silver medal in the track and field events.

PT Usha Records

PT Usha Achievements

Pt usha medals.

PT Usha Awards and Honours

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Get here current GK and GK quiz questions in English and Hindi for India , World, Sports and Competitive exam preparation. Download the Jagran Josh Current Affairs App .

• What is the full name of P.T. Usha? + The full name of P.T. Usha is Pilavullakandi Thekkeraparambil Usha.
• In which year PT Usha was awarded Padma Shri? + The Government of India awarded Padma Shri to P.T. Usha in 1985.
• How many medals are won by P.T. Usha in the Olympics? + P.T. Usha won four gold medals and one silver medal in the track and the field events.
• What are the nicknames of PT Usha? + PT Usha has two nicknames- Golden Girl and Payyoli Express.
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Pt usha biography: queen of indian track and field.

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PT Usha (PT Usha full name: Payyoli Tevaraparampil Usha), at 59, is still one of the most talked-about track and field athletes of India of all time. Usha was on December 10, 2022 elected as the first woman president of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). This legendary athlete has been a constant in our G.K books for years. Having secured 4 Asian gold medals and 7 silver medals, she is widely acclaimed as the “Queen of Indian track and field.” This blog delves into the biography of PT Usha and explores her extraordinary journey to becoming a legendary figure in the nation.

She is one of India’s best-known women athletes with a 2-decade long career and people call her with love “ Payyoli Express “.

PT Usha Biography

PT Usha “Payyoli Express”- Journey

Her struggle and achievements are unparalleled. She was born in a poor family in Meladi-Payyoli, Kerala. Despite the poverty and lack of nourishment, Usha showed early aptitude in sports.  Realizing her talent, the Kerala Government awarded her a scholarship of Rs. 250 to Payyoli express.

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She had to go to a special sports school at Kannur for education and training.  The turning point in Usha’s life was when O. M. Nambiar, her coach throughout, spotted her in 1976 at the National School Games. He realized Usha’s great potential and trained her to be the Indian legend she is today.

“At this age, she has exhibited great courage and confidence. I didn’t see any sign of nervousness during the event. The ability to push hard in the closing stages of the race gives her an edge,”

PT Usha International Career

She started her international career in 1980 at the Moscow, Olympics . But disappointment struck as she lost bronze by 0.01 second. She proved her real mettle when she won silver medals in 100m and 200m event at the 9th Asian Games in 1982 in New Delhi.

Usha’s shining moment came at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Despite some setbacks in other events, she focused on the 400m hurdles and set a new Commonwealth record. In the final, she narrowly missed a medal by 1/100th of a second, attributed partly to a false start disrupting her rhythm.

At the 1985 Jakarta Asian Meet, Payyoli Express earned her title of the sprint queen as she won five gold medals (in the 100m, 200m, 400m, 400m hurdles, and the 4x400m relay ) and a bronze in the 100m relay.  In the 1986 Seoul Asian games, Usha notched up four Gold medals and silver.

PT Usha With Other Athletes

She is always seen supporting athletes and has openly spoken about the issues faced by Indian Athletes on an international level. The amount of responsibility she feels for Indian Sports system is both important and commendable. She is always seen encouraging Indian athletes on Social platforms like Twitter and Facebook.

Usha School Of Athletics

After retiring from her career, she started an athletics school  in 2002 at Koyilandi, Kerala to impart training to girls from all over the country. This school recruits children in the 10-12 age group. She started this school with an aim to get an Olympic medal for the Country. Usha believes that India is lacking behind not in terms of talent but basic facilities.

Her school provides free training to the athletes. They also have free facilities for food and shelter. Usha school is an organization that is dedicated to supporting young talents who have bigger goals but lack the facilities to reach their dreams.

PT Usha- IOA President

India’s legendary track and field athlete, PT Usha, made history as she was unanimously elected as the first woman president of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) in 2022. The executive committee elections, overseen by retired Supreme Court judge Justice L Nageswara Rao, had 77 members in the electoral college, including PT Usha. With no other contenders, her victory in the IOA elections was a mere formality after she filed her nomination papers previously.

Simple Yet Determined

Usha married to V. Srinivasa, an inspector with Central Industry Security Force in 1991. She was blessed with a boy, Ujjwal. In fact, at one point in time, she returned back to the track after a gap of 4 years and won a silver medal at the Hiroshima Asiad!

The illustrious career of P.T Usha speaks for itself. She has been the finest women athlete India has ever produced. 

PT Usha Awards and Honors

• Honorary doctorate (D.Litt.) conferred by Kannur University in 2000
• Honorary doctorate (D.Sc.) conferred by IIT Kanpur in 2017
• Honorary doctorate (D.Litt.) conferred by the University of Calicut in 2018
• IAAF Veteran Pin in 2019
• Padma Shri in 1985

Payyoli Express Statistics

PT Usha Social Media

Gutted by the news of sad demise of former Kerala CM Oommen Chandy Sir. Sir was the one who gave wings to my dream by allocating land to establish Usha School of Athletics. Me, my family, trust board members, staff & all students of the school express our deepest condolences. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/JvbHbOKsZk — P.T. USHA (@PTUshaOfficial) July 18, 2023

Remembering our brave and valiant soldiers of the Indian Armed Forces on Kargil Vijay Diwas. They're our true heroes who stood tall against adversity, safeguarding their motherland and people. @adgpi @indiannavy @IAF_MCC pic.twitter.com/sscnG8cLDp — P.T. USHA (@PTUshaOfficial) July 26, 2023

Celebrating 31 years of companionship, love & togetherness today on our wedding anniversary. pic.twitter.com/ikYTVKI1em — P.T. USHA (@PTUshaOfficial) April 25, 2022

View this post on Instagram A post shared by P.T.Usha (@ptushaofficial)

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The Passion of PT Usha

Lessons from a champion in surviving and overcoming the odds

PT Usha poses at an event in New Delhi (Photo: Getty Images)

V ENUGOPAL TK, A CLOSE RELATIVE OF PT USHA’S COACH OM NAMBIAR, recalls his meetings with the iconic athlete back in the mid-1980s. “Her name was a synonym for hard work and devotion. She had a tremendous will to train against odds and win,” he says, remember­ing the days when he used to meet her in Delhi’s Nehru Stadium where she trained with her coach for sporting events in the national capital.

It certainly has been a bumpy ride for the 58-year-old, who at a young age became an inspiration for female athletes thanks to her trail-blazing career as a sprint queen of India, especially for those from similar backgrounds from the countryside and working-class families.

From her rise as a teenager at sub-district sport meets in her hometown Kozhikode through national and Asian athletic glory to the Olympics in 1984 where she missed the bronze medal at 400m hurdles by 1/100th of a second and elsewhere, odds were a constant companion for Usha, whose spirit of survival is now the stuff of legend. She was rewarded with a Rajya Sabha membership and later got elected as president of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), the first woman to hold the post, last year.

All her life, she overcame hurdles, literally and figuratively. As an astute hurdling and sprinting phenomenon, she had to make do with the barest of facilities available when she made a surprise foray into athletics. It was her primary-school coach Balakrishnan in Vadakara, Kozhikode, who figured that she had it in her to make it big in sport. He made Usha, then a Class IV student, compete with a champion runner in her school, who was at that time in Class VII. Usha beat her, much to the shock of onlookers and her classmates.

Since Usha was a good student, her parents, especially her mother who was a teacher, and her father EPM Paithal, a small businessman, did not want their daughter to pursue athletics because of the stigma associated with girls taking part in sport and wearing shorts, which was widely frowned upon. They also wanted her to follow the path of her mother and become a teacher. Sport wasn’t for her, the parents had decided. But one of her uncles, TV Narayanan, insisted otherwise and so did a few others, who finally prevailed. She easily got admission to the sports division launched by the state government for women the year she turned 13.

At the Municipal High School where she studied in neigh­bouring Kannur district, things were not hunky-dory. Only, Usha had by then learnt to turn odds into opportunities and focus on training. Nearly 80 people in the hostel had to share two toilets and three bathrooms. “But we managed,” she would disclose later in interviews.

IN 1980, AT the age of 16, she had her first experience of being treated like a national star when she travelled to Pakistan to attend the Open National Meet in Karachi where fans loudly chanted her name from the galleries as she picked up gold for India. Just as Milkha Singh had inspired aspiring athletes in an­other generation, PT Usha became the idol that young people, especially girls, looked up to as a role model. But odds were still her companion. She did not travel to Karachi by flight but on an unreserved train compartment all the way from Kerala, first to north India and then inside Pakistan. The same year, she was chosen for the Olympics in Moscow. Until a few months earlier, she had not used a tracksuit or worn spikes, which some of her affluent rivals in track and field back home in Kerala used to do. Yet, she was laps ahead of them at the finish line in all track events from 100m to 400m sprints and hurdles.

When she landed in Moscow and met her co-participants from other countries, she had the shock of her life: they were all extremely muscular and big. “My whole body was the size of their leg,” she would joke later in an interview. But she wasn’t someone who would baulk or feel intimidated. Since the time she used to run on northern Kerala’s beaches as a teenager, she was used to people staring and being judgemental and dismissive. Usha’s only wish was that she would not be among the last bunch of run­ners. Back then, Malayalam was the only language she spoke and she was tongue-tied amongst the international group of runners. She was reluctant to mingle with the seniors, except for basket­ball coach M Rajan, a fellow Malayali. Usha recalled later with a lot of gratitude that the late Joginder Singh Saini, veteran athletics coach and Dronacharya awardee, gave her enough confidence before she took part in the 100m heats, in which she finished sixth. She still holds the record for the youngest Indian sprinter at the Olympics. She has said in several interviews that she had to make do with the unfamiliar continental food because by the time she reached the mess hall—because she was alone and lonely and often lost her way while going from her room to the mess hall—the Indian food would be finished.

Her day in the sun would soon arrive, though. Aged 18, at the Asian Games in New Delhi in 1982, she won two silvers in the 100m and 200m dash and earned the epithet “Payyoli Express”. Payyoli is a place in Kerala’s Kozhikode dis­trict that Usha hails from. And then she went on to win gold in the 400m race and silver in the 200m at the Asian Championships held in Kuwait City in 1983.

Usha rose from prominence to prominence soon although, at the 1984 Olympics, she lost the bronze in the 400m hurdles final after she had to restart fol­lowing a false start by a fellow competitor. She would later talk about her days at the Olym­pic village when she had to eat just rice porridge and kadu manga (traditional Kerala mango pickle) and had no supply of supplements. She was devastated by what she thought was bad luck. Usha lost the bronze to a Romanian sprinter who crossed the finish line at the same time but won because the latter lunged forward at the final moment.

Yet, as Venugopal TK, a former Central government officer based in Delhi, says, she knew the importance of dogged deter­mination. Many others who knew her since she was a teenager say that she would break into tears whenever she lost or suffered a setback or faced humiliation, but recovered immediately. At the Asian Championships in Jakarta in 1985, she was irresist­ible, winning gold in the 100m, 200m, 400m, 400m hurdles and 4x400m relay for India. India came third only in the 4x100m relay. In 1986, at the Seoul Asian Games, she won gold in the 2oom, 400m, 400m hurdles and 4x400m relay for India. She got silver in the 100m sprint. In the 100m, she had a great rival in Lydia de Vega of the Philippines, both often losing to each other in the early 1980s. Of the 23 medals Usha had won in the Asian track and field events from the 1980s, 14 were gold.

The Usha School of Athletics attracts talent from all over the country. She aims to create world champions and still dreams of training an Olympic champion for India. But it hasn’t been easy to counter the challenges, against her academy or from those trying to belittle her standing. But she always knew the importance of dogged determination

Usha has said that despite her achievements, she had been blamed by sport writers as well as by those within the sport fraternity. At the 1988 Olympics, when she could not perform well because of an injury, the barrage of criticism she had to face was tendentious in the extreme. She talked about the agony of having to face such attacks, but none broke her. She was tena­cious enough to resurface on the track with renewed vigour. Usha did well in 1987 and 1989 at the Asian Championships, winning seven golds in the two events. She was 34 when she took part in the Asian Games in 1998 in Japan where she played a crucial role in the victory of the relay team that won gold in 100m.

Yet, despite being one of India’s most decorated athletes— she has won the Arjuna award, the Padma Shri, and several other honorary awards, including doctorates—she has often faced discrimination as an athlete as well as a trainer at the hands of sport organisers who often denigrated her. But it is her never-say-die attitude that has often stood her in good stead.

After retirement from sport, Usha, who had been employed with the Indian Railways, began to focus on tapping talent and training them in track and field events. The Usha School of Athletics in Balussery, Kozhikode, set up in 2002, at­tracts talent from all over In­dia. She aims to create world champions for the country. She has been the subject of several biographies, and a biopic about her life is reportedly in the making.

But it hasn’t been easy to counter the challenges, be it those facing her academy or from those trying to belittle her standing. For someone who had risen to become the most recognisable face in Indian sport, she has been under immense scrutiny since the beginning over her performance. Several months ago, a prominent sportswoman made a preposterous remark that Usha was not a world-class athlete and that she managed to almost win a bronze in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics because the Eastern bloc of countries had boycotted the event. That the International Amateur Athletic Federation had selected Usha in 1985 and 1986 as one of the best eight athletes in the world is often overlooked by her critics.

Usha, among whose favourite sportsmen is former American track and field athlete Edwin Moses, still dreams of training an Olympic champion for India. For this alumnus of Providence Women’s College in Kozhikode, who is married and has a son, it is an obsession that is as powerful as her willpower to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds. Pilavullakandi Thekkera­parambil Usha recently used a quote that is attributed, among others, to Franklin D Roosevelt: “Great power involves great re­sponsibility.” Now in a powerful position, she knows she can do more to fulfil the dreams that she could not so far. She knows that the odds, too, are many. But then PT Usha has charged through all the barriers she has faced, ever since she was four.

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India's ace sprinter p.t.usha establishes herself as asia's leading athlete, india's ace sprinter p.t. usha established herself as asia's leading athlete last fortnight the mian championships in jakarta, where she won five golds including four in individual events. her performance powered india into second place behind china..

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The honour of leading the Asian athletic contingent in Canberra was richly deserved. Barely three days earlier, Usha had stunned the jam-packed Madya Stadium in Jakarta with a sensational gold rush sweeping the women's sprints in record timings to take the 100m, 200m, 400m and 400m hurdles titles.

Her last two golds were won within 35 minutes of each other. Her medal hunger unsatiated, Usha then anchored the 400m relay team for her fifth gold. Her incredible performance stopped just short of a sixth when the slower 100m women's relay team was beaten into third place to give Usha her sixth medal, a bronze.

By the third day of the meet Usha had already elbowed aside Asian track favourites like Lydia de Vega of the Philippines to firmly establish herself as the reigning queen of Asian athletics. Fears that Usha was over-extending herself by competing in six events over five days, proved groundless.

Yet, that hardly paledher outstanding performance in Jakarta which prompted the Asian Amateur Athletic Association to appoint her as captain of the Asian athletic team. Back home, there was greater jubilation in honour of the 21-year-old assistant sports officer of the Indian railways.

Minister of State for Railways Madhavrao Scindia dashed off a congratulatory telegram stating somewhat unoriginally:"ln the world of athletics, you have written the name of our nation in letters of gold." Kerala Chief Minister K.Karunakaran was so inspired that he hiked up his dhoti to lead a 4 km mass jog through the streets of Trivandrum to further interest in the already sports-conscious state. Last week, the state Cabinet decided to build Usha a house costing Rs 2 lakh anywhere in the state and announced cash awards of Rs 75,000 for Shiny Abraham and Rs 25,000 for Valsamma.

That opinion had been earlier shared by Minister of State for Sports Jaichandra Singh, who announced at the start of the year that Usha would be allowed to compete in any international competition she wished and the Government would pick up the tab. Along with Shiny Abraham and high jump hope N. Annavi. Usha spent two months under the watchful eye of Jim Alford at London's Crystal Palace.

Usha is among the few Indian sports stars who believes that in athletics there is no off-season. During the few weeks in a year she comes home Usha prefers to stay at Cannanore, 55 km away from her home, at the residence of coach Nambiar's elder brother, so that she can use the facilities at the police grounds for her hurdles training and run under Nambiar's watchful eye on the nearby beaches to strengthen her legs and her stamina.

Usha and coach Nambiar, who refers to her as "my fifth child" are almost inseparable and undoubtedly his presence and advice at athletic meets is invaluable for her. Last year, she refused to go to an international meet in Seoul because Nambiar was not allowed to accompany her. Since then, however, the Amateur Athletic Federation of India (AAFI) has agreed that Nambiar will accompany her everywhere.

Nambiar's contribution has been acknowledged in an otherwise devastating report on the Los Angeles Olympics entitled "The Greatest Puppet Show of Indian Sports" presented by Dr P.S.M. Chandran, the sports medicine specialist who accompanied the Indian contingent. In it, he writes: "Nambiar is a rare exception and it will not be easy to find such dedicated officials."

It is apparent that the Nambiar-Usha combine would do even better but for the lack of adequate competition in the Asian circuit and of facilities and expert training in India. The spectacular improvement in athletes from the Middle East, as demonstrated in the Jakarta meet, is solely because countries like Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Iraq are making use of top-ranked coaches from East Germany, Belgium and the US to nurture existing talent. The performance of the Kerala triumvirate of Usha, Shiny Abraham and Valsamma is consequently, all the more laudatory.

A recent study by R.K. Gupta and S. Bhatnagar of the Faculty of Sports Sciences at Patiala also reveals that Indian women have progressed in athletics at a much faster rate than the Chinese and Japanese women and are streets ahead of their male counterparts.

The mean percentage improvement rate per event recorded by Indian women is 6.11 per cent while the Chinese and Japanese figures were 4.83 and 3.33 per cent per event respectively. The corresponding figures for the men were Chinese (4.13), Japanese (2.90) and Indian (2.49) per event computed over a 12-year period.

But Asian standards are still far short of Olympic levels though there has been a dramatic improvement in Asian sprint timings with Usha and Shiny Abraham among the women athletes holding out considerable hope for the future.

The real test, naturally, will be in the Seoul Asiad next year and the Olympics in 1988 when India's new sprint superstar will have to demonstrate to the world that her astounding gold rush is not just a flash in the pan.

Amarnath K. Menon in Kerala with Rupinder Singh and Asim Handa in Jakarta

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पीटी उषा का पूरा नाम पिलाउल्लाकांडी थेक्केपरांबिल उषा है। - पीटी उषा भारत की महानतम एथलीटों में से एक हैं, जिन्हें अक्सर देश की "क्वीन ऑफ ट्रैक एंड फील्ड" कहा जाता है।

पीटी उषा लंबे स्ट्राइड के साथ एक बेहतरीन स्प्रिंटर थीं। वो 1980 के दशक में अधिकांश समय तक एशियाई ट्रैक-एंड-फील्ड इवेंट्स में हावी रहीं। जहां उन्होंने कुल 23 पदक जीते, जिनमें से 14 स्वर्ण पदक थे। जहां भी वो दौड़ने जाती, वो दर्शकों की फेवरेट बन जाती थीं।

केरल के कुट्टाली गाँव में जन्मी, पीटी उषा ने पास के पय्योली में अध्ययन किया। बाद में उनको निकनेम के रूप में ’द पय्योली एक्सप्रेस’ का नाम मिला। उनकी प्रतिभा का पता तब चला जब वो महज नौ साल की थीं।

एक स्कूल की दौड़ में चौथी कक्षा के छात्रा ने देखते ही देखते स्कूल के चैंपियन को हरा दिया, जो उससे तीन साल सीनियर था। इसने शिक्षकों को हैरान कर दिया। अगले कुछ सालों में उनकी क्षमताओं ने उन्हें स्पोर्ट्स स्कूलों के पहले बैच में से जगह दिलाई, जिसे केरल सरकार ने स्थापित किया था।

पीटी उषा ने राज्य और नेशनल गेम्स में अपना दबदबा कायम रखा और 16 साल की उम्र में ओलंपिक में भारत का प्रतिनिधित्व करने वाली तत्कालीन सबसे कम उम्र की एथलीट बन गईं, जब उन्हें मास्को में 1980 के खेलों के लिए भारतीय दल में शामिल किया गया था।

उषा तब फाइनल के लिए क्वालिफाई नहीं कर सकी थीं, लेकिन 1982 के एशियाई खेलों में भारतीय दर्शकों का दिल जीत लिया, जब उन्होंने 100 मीटर और 200 मीटर में रजत पदक जीता।

वो 1983 की एशियाई चैंपियनशिप में 200 मीटर में रजत पदक जीतने मे कामयाब रहीं और जब उन्होंने 400 मीटर में स्वर्ण पदक जीता, तो उनके कोच ओ.एम. नांबियार ने सुझाव दिया कि वह 400 मीटर बाधा दौड़ की कोशिश करें।

ये भारत के सबसे यादगार ओलंपिक क्षणों में से एक को ट्रैक पर लाएगा।

लॉस एंजेलिस 1984 में एक फिट, बेहतर-प्रशिक्षित पीटी उषा फिर से अपनी छाप छोड़ने के लिए तैयार थीं।

क्वालिफाइंग में प्रभावशाली प्रदर्शन के साथ 400 मीटर बाधा दौड़ के फाइनल में पहुंचने के बाद, उषा केवल एक सेकंड से भी कम समय से कांस्य पदक से चूक गईं।

एक गलत शुरुआत पर काबू पाने के बाद, भारतीय 100 मीटर स्प्रिंट की तरह अंतिम समय में दौड़ी थीं। हालांकि उनका पैर कांस्य विजेता क्रिस्टियाना कोजोकारू से आगे था, लेकिन उन्होंने अपनी छाती को फिनिश लाइन से आगे नहीं किया था।

ये एक ऐसा पल था जिसने पीटी उषा को खेल की बुलंदियों पर पहुंचा दिया और महज 20 साल की उम्र में खेलों की दुनिया में उन्होंने अपना नाम बनाया। इससे भी महत्वपूर्ण बात ये बात थी कि देश एथलेटिक्स की की ओर बढ़ने लगे।

जकार्ता में 1985 की एशियाई चैंपियनशिप में पीटी उषा ने पांच स्वर्ण पदक और एक कांस्य पदक जीते और ये सारे पदक उन्होंने पांच दिनों के अंतराल जीता, उनके अंतिम दो स्वर्ण एक-दूसरे के आधे घंटे के भीतर आए।

सियोल 1986 के एशियन गेम्स में उन्होंने चार स्वर्ण पदक और एक रजत पदक जीते, जिनमें से प्रत्येक एशियाई रिकॉर्ड समय के साथ दर्ज हुआ था। इन दोनों एशियाई राजधानियों में उन्होंने अपने नाम की गुंज सुनी।

हालांकि, दो साल बाद सियोल 1988 ओलंपिक में उषा पिछले चार साल के अपने कारनामों को दोहरा नहीं सकीं। अपनी शुरुआती हीट में सातवें स्थान पर रहीं।

उषा ने 1990 में संन्यास की घोषणा की, लेकिन उससे पहले उन्होंने 1989 के एशियाई चैंपियनशिप और 1990 के एशियाई खेलों में चार स्वर्ण और पांच सिल्वर अपने नाम किया।

हालांकि कहानी में एक मोड़ आना बाकी था। चार बार के ओलंपिक स्वर्ण पदक विजेता एवलिन एशफ़ोर्ड से प्रेरित और उनके पति श्रीनिवासन (एक पूर्व राष्ट्रीय कबड्डी खिलाड़ी) से सहयोग मिलने के बाद, पीटी उषा ने ट्रैक पर वापसी करने का फैसला किया।

उनकी अविश्वसनीय प्रतिभा की झलक तब देखने को मिली, जब उन्होंने 1994 में एशियाई खेलों में 4x400 मीटर रिले रजत पदक और 1998 एशियाई चैंपियनशिप में चार पदक जीते। सिडनी 2000 ओलंपिक में ऐसा लग रहा था कि वो आखिरी बार तूफान की तरह दौड़ना चाहती हैं।

हालांकि, पीटी उषा के घुटने की समस्या शुरू हो गई, जिसका 1995 में एक चोट के बाद ऑपरेशन करना पड़ा था, जिससे उन्हें लगभग चार महीने तक खेल से बाहर रहना पड़ा। इसके साथ ही वापसी के सभी रास्ते भारतीय ट्रैक एंड फील्ड की क्वीन के लिए धूंधले होते गए। पीटी उषा ने अपनी संन्यास की घोषणा कर दी।

“मैंने जो कुछ भी हासिल किया है मैं उससे संतुष्ट हूं। ओलंपिक पदक को छोड़कर मैंने जो भी लक्ष्य रखा, मैंने हासिल किया। मैं अब ये सुनिश्चित करना चाहती हूं कि मेरी शिष्या जीत जाए!" महान एथलीट ने एक इंटरव्यू में ‘उषा स्कूल ऑफ एथलेटिक्स’ का जिक्र करते हुए कहा था।

केरल के कोझीकोड में उनकी ऐकेडमी आज युवा एथलेटिक्स आशाओं और उनकी प्रतिभा को गाइड करती है। ये भारत के भविष्य के सितारों को उस ऊंचाई तक पहुंचाने का प्रयास है जो उन्होंने किया था।

पीटी उषा ने एक एथलीट के रूप में रिटायर होने के बाद एक एडमिनिस्ट्रेटर रूप में भारतीय खेलों में अपनी सेवा दी है। 2022 में आईओए के निर्विरोध चुनाव लड़ने से पहले वह भारतीय एथलेटिक्स महासंघ (AFI) में जूनियर चयन समिति की अध्यक्ष थीं।

दिसंबर 2022 में आईओए अध्यक्ष बनने के बाद पीटी उषा ने कहा, "मेरे सफ़र के अनुभवों की वजह से मैं इस पद के मूल्य को अच्छी तरह से जानती हूं। मैं एक एथलीट और एक कोच के दर्द को महसूस करती हूं। इन सबसे अधिक मैं सही मायनों में एक एडमिन की भूमिका को भी बख़ूबी समझती हूं।

पीटी उषा ने कहा, "मैं ओलंपिक मूल्यों को बनाए रखने और राष्ट्रीय और अंतरराष्ट्रीय खेल महासंघों के साथ काम करने के लिए तत्पर हूं, ताकि हम यह सुनिश्चित कर सकें कि भारत एक खेल महाशक्ति बनने की राह पर नए आयामों को हासिल करे"

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