P. T. Usha (Queen of Indian track and field)

(27 June 1964)

P. T. Usha (Pilavullakandi Thekkeparambil Usha) was one of India's best-known women athletes. She remained the queen of track and field for almost two decades. P.T. Usha was fondly called the "Payyoli express" and the golden girl because of her awesome speed on the track.

Early Life

Payyoli Tevaraparampil Usha was born in a poor family in Meladi-Payyoli village, near Calicut (Kozhikode), Kerala on June 27, 1964. Usha had to face ill health and poverty as a young girl. The initials in Usha's name stand for Payyoli Tevaraparampil, her family names, according to the traditional naming system in South India. In 1991, Usha married V. Srinivasan and gave birth to a son, Ujjwal.

Career

As a child Usha showed an early aptitude for sports. This won her a scholarship of Rs. 250 from the Kerala government and led Usha to a special sports school at Cannore. In 1979 Usha participated in the National School Games. It was here that O. M. Nambiar (who coached her throughout most of her career) spotted her. He realized that this girl had a great potential. This proved the turning point of her illustrious carrier.

Usha began her international carrier at the Moscow Olympics in 1980 but she proved her real mettle in the 1982 Asian Games in New Delhi, winning the silver in the 100 m and 200 m event. The Jakarta Asian Meet in 1985 Usha elevated her to the position 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.

The Seoul Asian games proved an icing on cake of her athletics carrier, where Usha notched up four Gold medals and silver. Later, P.T Usha started an athletics school at Koyilandi near Kozhikode, Kerala to impart training to girls from all over the country. This school recruits children in the 10-12 age group.

In 1991, she married V. Srinivasan. After the birth of her son, she came back to athletics and won bronze medals in the 200 m and 400 m at the Asian Track Federation meet at Fukuoka in Japan in 1998. She retired from athletics in the year 2000 and set up her sports academy in Kerala.

Throughout her carrier Usha never looked back. In fact, at one point of time she returned back to track after a gap of 4 years and won a silver medal at the Hiroshima Asiad! But the greatest disappointment came at the Los Angeles Olympics, where Usha missed the bronze medal by just 1/100th of a second. This was a heart break for the whole country.

She was awarded the Arjuna Award in 1983 and the Padma Shree in 1985.