P.T.Usha

PTusha

Full Name Pilavullakandi Tevaraparampil  Usha
Titles Queen of Indian Track and field, Asian sprint queen, Payyoli Express, Golden girl
Profession Athlete
Date of birth 27 June 1964
Place of birth Payyoli, Kozhikode, India
Family
  • Father : E.P.M.Paithal
  • Mother : Lakshmi 
  • Sisters:Suma and Shobha
  • Brother: Pradeep
  • Spouse : V.Srinivasan
  • Son: Ujjwal
International Debut Moscow Olympics, 1980
Was noticed 1982 Asian Games
Inspired into athletics Balakrishnan Nair, Physical education teacher
Best timings 100 meters (11.39 seconds), 200metres (23.25 sec), 400 meters (51.61 sec) and the 400 meters hurdles (55.42 sec).
Coaches O.M.Nambiar, JS. Bhatia
Works for Southern Railways
Opinions about  her
  • Coach:Very hard working, meticulous, confident and optimistic
  • Husband:Proud of my wife because she has made India proud.
Favorite food meen molasia, sambhar and kootu-curry.
Name of her house Ushass
Best Moment Winning the first medal in the Asian games1982
Worst moment 1984 Olympics she missed the bronze medal in 400m hurdles by just 1/100th of a second.
Disappointment “I had so much of talent but I lacked the right exposure at the right time. If I had participated in meets abroad regularly, I could have performed so much better.”
Has started School of Athletics at Koyilandi near Kozhikode
Achievements
  • Won 5 gold medals and one bronze in 1985, at the Jakarta Asian Athletic meet.
  • Won four golds in 1986, Seoul Asian games
  • Won a total of 102 medals at National and International meets during her career.
  • Won 1 gold and 2 silver at the 1999 Saf Games held at Kathmandu
  • 33 medals including 13 golds in Asian Games and Asian Championships
Awards and  Honors
  • Recipient of Arjuna Award ,1984.
  • Greatest women athlete, in 1985 Jakarta Asian Athletic Meet.
  • Padma Sree in 1984.
  • Best Athlete of the year Award from India Government in 1984,1985,1986,1987, and 1989.
  • Marshal Tito award for the best railway sportsperson in 1984, 1985, 1989 and 1990
  • 1986 Seoul Asian Games, won the Adidas Golden Shoe Award for the best athlete
  • Thirty International Awards, for her excellence in Athletics.
  • Kerala Sports Journalists Award for the year 1999.
Her opinion about India’s future in athletics
  • Politicians should not meddle in sports
  • A scientific approach to sports.
Facts
  • Was named Usha by her maternal grandfather.
  • First Keralite and first Indian woman to reach the final of an Olympic event.
  • Youngest Indian sprinter to compete in the quadrennial sporting extravaganza in Moscow Olympics at the age 16.
  • Her effort of 55.54 seconds in LosAngeles was a record since this was the first time, 400m hurdles was conducted in the womens section.
  • 1In 982 Delhi Asiad won the first medal of the games.
  • Has participated in Olympic games from 1980- 1996 except on 1992, Barcelona Olympics
  • A road at Payyoli, her home town, is named after her
  • The Kerala Government has also set up a “PT Usha Sports Council” at Central Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram.
  • At the age of 34 she set a new national record for the 200m, after the birth of her son.
Her Autobiography Golden Girl, was published by Penguin in 1987
Books about her P.T.Usha, the pride of India, by P.T. Rajasekharan.
Ore Oru Usha, by Rajagopal
Dream Atleast any one from her school should  get an Olympic medal.
Quote “I  feel something is missing in my life if I am not running”

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