P.T.Usha

Early Life
She was born on the 27th of June 1964 at Payyoli, a village located in District Payyoli of Kerala to E.P.M. Paithal and T.V. Lakshmi. Usha was affected by ill health in her early childhood days, but displayed the signs of a great Athlete right in her primary school days. 


The queen of Indian track and field for two decades, the woman who was nicknamed 'Payyoli Express'’, Udanpari’, and “Golden Girl” because of her speed on the race-track P. T. Usha, has been associated with Indian athletics since 1979. The sporting legend of India, the symbol of perseverance in Indian sports has been through several trials and tribulations in life. She was born in the Kerala village of Koothali near Perambra in Kozhikode district and brought up in” thrikottur” in thikkodi panchayath and later on habihuted in only one kilometers distance place called Payyoli, As the daughter of E. P. M. Paithal and T. V. Lakshmi and afflicted by ill health in her childhood days. Right from her primary school days Usha showed the spark of athletic talent and was the star of many a sports meet. 


Beginning of Athletic Career
The Kerala State Government began a Sports Division for Women at Kannur in the year 1976, and 12 year old P.T. Usha was one among the 40 girls who began their training under O.M. Nambiar, the Coach at the division. She first came into limelight in the year 1979 when at National School Games, she won the individual championship. 


 


Usha School of Athletics, started by her in 2002 at a rented house in Koyilandy near Kozhikode, in Kerala, with Rs 10,000 from her savings, has recently moved into a 30-acre campus in Kinalur village, 20 km from Kozhikode city. Kinalur was in the news recently when the police clashed with villagers who protested a four-lane approach road to the proposed industrial park being set up by the state government-owned Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) and the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB), a statutory body established in Malaysia. 


 


In 1976 the Kerala State Government started a Sports division for women in Kannur, and Usha was stared practicing under the guidance coach O. M. Nambiar as one among the forty girls athletes in sports division Kannur. In 1979 she participated in the National School Games, where she won the individual championship and came in to the lime light. Her first international performance came in the 1980 Pakistan Open National Meet at Karachi where she won4 gold medals for the country. In 1982 she won gold medal in 200m.race and bronze medal in 100 m. race in the world junior invitation meet (currently called world junior athletic championship) at Seoul. By 1984, the Los Angeles Olympics, she had improved tremendously; she won the 400 m heats, and missed getting India's first track-and-field bronze medal in the 400m finals by 1/100 sec, in a dramatic photo finish. She put her faith in her natural talent and trusted in God almighty, with the strength from the people of India. She emerged a winner becoming the first Indian sports women to enter the Olympics final at the age of twenty. 


Further, in the year 1985 she participated at the Asian Track and Field Championship held at Jakarta, Indonesia and grabbed 5 Gold Medals and 1 Bronze Medal at the championship. At Seoul Asian Games 1986, Usha clinched four Gold Medals in the 200m, 400m, 400m Hurdles and 4x400m Relay races. Unfortunately, she got her heel injured before the Seoul Olympic Games 1988 and still ran for the nation in the same condition, although couldn’t fare well at the event.

Usha bounced back in the year 1989 at Asian Track Federation Meet held at Delhi, and clinched four Gold Medals and two Silver Medals at the meet. At this time, Usha wanted to declare her retirement but as a last innings she participated at Beijing Asian Games 1990 and despite not being fully prepared for the event, she grabbed three Silver Medals at the event. 


 


Usha retired from Athletics and married V.Srinivasan in the year 1991, but to the surprise of everybody she made a sudden comeback in the year 1998 and won Bronze Medals in 200m and 400m races at the Asian Track Federation Meet held at Fukkowakka in Japan. At the age of 34 years, P.T. Usha improved her own timing in 200m race and set a new National Record, which was enough to prove the level of Athletic talent still lying inside her. 


To commemorate her excellent services to the nation through her consistent and determined efforts towards the sport of Athletics, P.T. Usha was honored with the Arjuna Award in the year 1983 and Padma Shri award in the year 1985. Apart from it, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) named her the Sportsperson of the Century and the Sports Woman of the Millennium. Also, she was named the Greatest Woman Athlete at Jakarta Asian Athletic Meet 1985 and given the World Trophy for Best Athlete in the years 1985 and 1986.