Pilavullakandi Thekkeparambil Usha was born on 27^th June 1964 in Kerala. She was born in a village called Payyoli in the Perambra District of Kozhikode. Her parents are E.P.M. Paithal and T.V. Lakshmi. She started showing signs of her athletic talent from her early days at her school by winning all the track events. When she was twelve years of age, she represented the Kozhikode District for the Kerala State Government’s Sports School for Women. She was being paid Rupees two hundred and fifty per month by the State. When she was fifteen, she took part in the National School Games and won the individual championship.

Throughout most of her career, she was coached by the famous athletic coach, Mr. O.M. Nambiar. She made her international debut at the age of sixteen at the Moscow Olympics in 1980. It was not such a great beginning. Yet, four years later, she did something that no woman from India had done before. She garnered all her strength to qualify in all the heats and became the first Indian woman to enter an Olympics final at the Los Angeles Games in 1984 at the age of twenty.

Women qualifying for the track and field events on an international level were unheard of in India. This was a rare occasion. P.T. Usha went on to great heights and explored a field where no Indian woman had entered before. She has inspired every Indian girl to go for whatever she dreams about. She has motivated millions of people to achieve new grounds in the track and field events.

Be it a national meet or an international event, P.T. Usha picked up medals wherever she went. She missed India’s first track and field Bronze Medal in the 400 metre finals at Los Angeles by just one hundredth of a second; suffering the same kind of photo finish disappointment that Milkha Singh had suffered many years earlier.

In the 1982 Asiad at New Delhi, P.T. Usha got a silver medal in the 100 metres and the 200 metres races. At the Jakarta Asian Games in 1984, she kept everyone spellbound with her speed. She picked up five gold medals in 100 metres, 200 metres, 400 metres, 400 metres hurdles and 4x400 metres relay race. In addition to these five gold medals, she picked up another bronze medal in the 4x100 metres relay race. These six medals are a record for a female athlete in any international meet. This has not been matched or surpassed by any woman till date. After the Indonesian Games, she became India’s most outstanding track and field sportswoman. In 1986, at the tenth Asian Games at Seoul, P.T. Usha won four gold medals and a silver medal.

In an interview, she has mentioned once in her prime that if she is not running, she feels that there is something missing in her life. She got married in 1991. She now lives with her husband, Mr. N. Srinivasan and her son, Ujjwal. Her husband and her family members were very supportive when she decided to make a comeback to the track and field at the age of thirty four. She surprised the whole country by winning the Bronze Medal in the 200 metres and the 400 metres race at the Asian Track Federation Meet at Fukkowakka in Japan in 1998. She retired in 2000 at the age of thirty six.

P.T. Usha started a sports school in Kerala which is called `Usha School of Athletics’ to prepare young talent. Mr. Lokesh Sharma has written a biography on her achievements called `The Golden Girl’. She is also known as the `Queen of the Indian Track and Field’ and `Udanpari’ and `Payyoli Express’. P.T. Usha has been associated with Indian athletics since 1979. Between 1983 and 1989, P.T. Usha collected thirteen gold medals at the athletic track and field meets. She has won overall one hundred and one international medals. She is currently working as an officer in the Southern Railways. She was honoured with the Arjuna Award and the Padma Shri in 1985.

Article Posted By : tahnak  On August 29, 2011lView All Articles

Tahseen Nakavi Juror

Article Source :

http://www.veethi.com/articles/pt-usha---the-golden-girl-from-kerala-article-210.htm

Keywords :
P.T. Usha , Track and Field