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 I feel
something is missing in my life if I am not running"
|
Courtesy: Web Resources
Compiled by: Poongodi
Sivagurunathan
|