Pilavulkanti Tekkeparampil Usha (born 27 June 1964) is an athlete from the state of Kerala, India. She is commonly known as P. T. Usha. Considered as the “Queen of Indian Track and Field”, PT Usha has been in Indian sports since 1979. He is one of the best players India has ever produced. He was nicknamed the “Payyoli Express”.
PT was one of the best sportsmen in India. Usha or Pilavullakandi Tekeparampil Usha PT Usha is considered to be the best runner India has ever seen. Usha won the Padma Shri in 1984 and the Arjuna Award and retired from international cricket for India in 2000. .now runs the Usha School of Athletics to train budding sports talents. Usha was one of the top ten athletes in world athletics in 1985 and 1986. No one from India before or after Usha has made it to this list.
OM Nambiar, who recognized Usha’s talent at a very young age, later took over the position of Usha’s coach in her sports career. Usha made her debut at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. In 1982, he won silver medals in the 100m and 200m races at the Asiad held in Delhi. At the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, he ran first in the semifinals of the 400-meter hurdles, but was relegated to fourth in a photo finish in the final.
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Lifeline
Born on June 27, 1964 in Payyoli, Kozhikode district. Father Paithal and mother Lakshmi. Usha was born as the second of six children. Father Paithal was a clothing merchant. Primary education was in Thrikkotur School. It was at that time that GV Raja Sports School was started in Kerala. After his primary education, he joined GV Raja Sports Division School in Kannur. O.M. Nambiar was Usha’s first coach. He worked hard to make Usha a great athlete. But even before that, E. Balakrishnan, who was the physical education teacher of Trikottur UP School, had discovered the sports star in Master Usha!
National Competitions
In 1977, he won a national record at the sports fair held in Kottayam. Usha ran 100 meters in 13 seconds. The previous national record was 13.1. Usha won four gold medals in the 1978 National Athletic Meet. In this meet, Usha ran 100 meters in 13.3 seconds, and jumped 1.35 meters in the high jump.
In 1979, at the National School Sports Festival held at Nagpur, he won four gold medals with two national records. By running 100 meters in 12.8 seconds, Usha broke the three-year-old record. Within a few moments, Usha also rewrote the existing 200m record held by Thangama Anthony. Usha completed the 200m race in 25.9 seconds.
In 1979, Usha performed well in the National Athletic Meet held in Hyderabad. He completed the 100 meter race in 12.9 seconds and won the gold medal. In the 80m hurdles, Usha topped the competition by 13.5 seconds, overturning Jani Sphinx’s current time of 13.6. Usha broke the 200m record of 26.4 seconds set by Martin Fernandes of Maharashtra by 26 seconds.
In 1981, Usha performed well in the 100m race at the State Amateur Athletic Meet held at Iringalakuda, Kerala. Usha completed the 100 meter race in 12.3 seconds. Usha broke her own record of 12.9 seconds.
International competitions
In 1980, he was selected to participate in the 18th Pakistan National Games held in Karachi. Usha won four gold medals at the Karachi Games. He was selected for the Indian team to participate in the 1980 Moscow Olympics. Usha became the youngest Indian to compete in running at the Olympics. Usha was 16 years old then. Ushak could not shine at the Moscow Olympics. Olympic conditions, intense competitive spirit of her opponents, lack of training and lack of experience in international conditions all hampered Usha’s performance. But familiarity with these new conditions created a new awakening in Usha. Usha came back and started training hard under coach Nambiar.
In 1982, he became the first person to win a medal in the Asiad held in Delhi. In 1983, Usha participated in the 400m race for the first time in the Asian Championships held in Kuwait. In 1984, he became the first person from Kerala to reach the finals of the Olympics in Los Angeles. Finished in 55.42 and placed fourth in the 400m hurdles. Talanarisha lost the bronze medal. Usha’s medal loss is the most embarrassing moment in the history of Indian athletics. The best performance by an Indian before this was done by Milkha Singh in Rome Olympics in 1960. Performance in Los Angeles took Usha to several European Grand Prix meets. Usha has four silver and five bronze medals in various European meets. He won 5 gold medals and one bronze medal at the 1985 Asian Athletic Meet in Jakarta. He won 4 gold medals in the Asian Games in 1986. He participated in every Olympic competition from 1980 to 1996 except the Barcelona Olympics in 1992.
Awards
- Arjuna Award 1983
- Padma Shri 1984
- Best Female Athlete at the Asian Athletic Meet in Jakarta.
- He received the Government of India award for the best sportsperson in 1987, 1985, 1986, 1987 and 1989.
- In 1986, he received the Adidas Golden Shoe Award for the best athlete at the Asian Games.
- He won 33 medals including 13 gold in Asian Games and Asian Championship.
- Won 102 medals both nationally and internationally
- In 1999, he won a gold medal and 2 silver medals at the SAFF Games held in Kathmandu.
Usha School of Athletics
Usha School of Athletics is a project initiated by Usha to shape future prospects in athletics. Usha started this school with an investment of twenty crores of Indian rupees. Usha School of Athletics is a sports school with state-of-the-art facilities. The Kerala government had offered thirty acres of land and fifteen lakh Indian rupees for Usha’s venture. Usha School of Athletics currently has residential facilities for 50 students. International stars like Tintu Luca were born from this sports school.
Edited from Wikipedia
