PT Usha
This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content. |
Biography
Vineet Ramakrishnan, July 30, 2016: The Times of India
In our build up to the Rio 2016 Olympics, we take a look at the glorious Indian moments at the Summer Games over the years. Here is a look at PT Usha's remarkable race in the 400m hurdles at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, where she missed a podium finish by one-hundredth of a second.
Pilavullakandi Thekkeparambil Usha made her first appearance at the Olympics in the 1980 edition held in Moscow as a rather unknown 16-year-old finishing fifth in the heats. Four years later, when she represented India in the inaugural women's 400m hurdles in the final, she was one of the favourites. She had beaten the eventual silver medallist Judy Brown of the USA in one of the pre-Olympic events and in the semi-final and was the Asian record-holder in 400m, a year after claiming 100m and 200m silver at the 1982 Asiad in New Delhi.
In the qualifying heats, she came second behind Brown and in the semi-final narrowly edged the American sprinter to win the heat - the first Indian athlete to do so. In the final, running in lane five, she started strong but a false start from another athlete meant the race had to be restarted. The second time around, Usha fell behind her competitors early on but soon caught up in the final 200m to find herself in fourth position.
Nawal El Moutawakel of Morocco had taken an unassailable lead and the fight for the podium was between Usha, Romania's Cristieana Cojocaru and Sweden's Ann-Louise Skoglund. However, in the final 50m, Brown put her down and accelerated remarkably from lane eight to leave behind her opponents to clinch the second position. The third place tussle between Usha, Cojocaru and Skoglund went down to a photo finish. Usha and Cojocaru crossed the finish line at almost same time, but the Indian sprinter did not go for a lunge at the finish line, Cojocaru did and the Romanian was declared the third-place winner.Usha had broken the then Commonwealth Games and Asian Games record, but her timing of 55.42s was one-hundredth of a second more than the Romanian's time. After Milkha Singh's heartbreak at the 1960 Rome Games, Usha had missed a podium finish by the smallest of margins.In a recently released book looking at 50 of India's Olympic athletes, Zafar Iqbal, who led India at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, recalls standing at the finish line of the women's 400m hurdles when Usha missed winning bronze by 1/100th of a second, making it the closest-ever miss for an Indian athlete in any competition. "She still remains the queen of Indian athletes in my eyes," said the hockey legend. A year later, she won five gold medals at the Asian Track and Field Championships in Jakarta and in 1986 at the Asian Games in Seoul, claimed four golds and a sliver. Thus Usha was called Asia's 'Golden Girl' and the 'Queen of Indian track and field' for her achievements.Usha announced her retirement in 1990 but made a comeback in 1993. In 1998, at the age of 34, she broke her own national record in the 200m clinching bronze medal at the Asian Championship in Japan. In 1999, she was named the Sportsperson of the Century by Indian Olympic Association alongside hockey legend Dhyan Chand. She currently runs the PT Usha School of Athletics at Koyilandy, Kerala and her protégé Tintu Luka is the current national record holder in 800m and will be competing at the Rio Olympics.
Achievements
1984 Olympics: Silver medal
Biju BabuCyriac, `Different sports, but feeling is same', Aug 29 2017: The Times of India
I could relate to her disappointment. These things stay with you for all time.“ PT Usha, who sat glued to the TV as PV Sindhu gave it her all in the world badminton final, could feel what the Indian shuttler was going through.
Usha had experienced a similar heart-break during the 400m hurdles final in the 1984 Olympics, missing bronze by a whisker in Los Angeles.Sindhu, Usha felt, fought gallantly till the very end. “It was a golden effort though she settled for the silver,“ she said.
“It was an absorbing final and I was glued to the TV throughout. When she won the second game I thought she is going to be lucky this time but sadly, it didn't end the way we wanted it.“ A medal hope in 1984, Usha had to settle for fourth place, 1100th of a sec ond behind Chri steana Cojocaru of Romania. of Romania.
“Badminton and athletics are not the same but yes, in the end she would have felt the same. At Los Angles, after the last hurdle and while sprinting to the line, I think my leg was ahead of her but she won it by bending to the tape,“ Usha remembered.
“This is what sport is all about. Look at Saina Nehwal. What a spirited comeback. You have to credit her as I know how difficult it is to come back from a knee injury . It takes a lot of grit,“ said Usha.
