PT Usha: Education, Records, Awards & More

PT Usha was an Indian track and field athlete. She has been a woman who has inspired generations of other woman athletes. PT Usha’s full name is  Pilavullakandi Thekkeparambil Usha, is also to as the nation’s “queen of track and field”. An elegant runner with extended strides, she led the way in Asian track-and-field competitions for much of the 1980s, securing 23 medals in total, with 14 of them being gold. She was a favourite among the audience in every race she participated in. In this blog, you will get to know more about PT Usha and her life.  

Overview of PT Usha’s Life
Name	Pilavullakandi Thekkeraparambil Usha
Born	27th June, 1964
Nickname	Payyoli Express, Golden Girl
Education	GVHSS (Sports) Kannur
Spouse	V. Srinivasan
Children	Vignesh Ujjwal, Ujjwal Srinivasan
Sports Career	Retired Indian field and track athlete
Active Years	1976-2000
Service	Indian Railways
Awards	Padma Shri, Arjuna Award for Athletics
Books	Golden Girl: The Autobiography of P.T. Usha

Who was P.T. Usha?

PT Usha was born on 27th July 1964 in the small town of Payyoli in Calicut, Kerala. She hailed from a family of severe poverty and struggled with many health issues. The name of Usha’s mother is T.V. Lakshmi and her father’s name is E.P.M. Paithal. 

• PT Usha attended school in Payyoli, a place that eventually became known by her nickname ‘The Payyoli Express’. 
• Her innate talent was spotted at the age of nine. 
• During a school race, a fourth-grade student easily defeated the school’s champion, who was three years her senior.
• This event amazed the teachers, and her remarkable skills over the following years led her to be included in one of the inaugural groups of sports-focused schools established by the Kerala government.

• She received a scholarship for sports of Rs. 250 from the government.
• The energetic young woman made her debut in professional athletics at the National School Games, catching the eye of O.M. Nambiar, a renowned athletics coach, with her exceptional skills. 
• In 1991, she married V. Srinivasan, a Central Industrial Security Force inspector, and together they have two sons.

Also Read – Gita Gopinath Education & Success Story

P.T. Usha’s Career

O.M. Nambiar, the athletics coach, first noticed P.T. Usha at a sports prize distribution event in 1977 and began coaching her the following year. 

• She quickly succeeded after securing six medals at the inter-state junior meet in Kollam in 1978.
• Her most memorable achievement was at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, where she won six medals at the Asian Championships in Jakarta in 1985—five gold and one bronze. 
• Between 1983 and 1989, P.T. Usha won 13 gold medals in Athletics Track and Field competitions. She also won four gold medals and one silver at the 10th Asian Games in Seoul, South Korea, in 1986.

• PT Usha was chosen as the president of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) in 2022 at the age of 58. 
• She became the first female president of the IOA in its 95-year history and the inaugural Olympian to hold this position. 
• Currently, P.T. Usha serves on the Board of Advisors for India’s International Movement to the UN (I.I.M.U.N.).

Records of P.T. Usha

Here is a list of all the records of PT Usha – 

Year	Position	Competition	Venue	Event
1980	5th (heats)	Olympic Games	Moscow, Russia	100 m
1982	2nd	Asian Games	New Delhi, India	100 m
	2nd			200 m
1983	2nd	Asian Championships	Kuwait City, Kuwait	200 m
	1st			400 m
1984	4th	Olympic Games	Los Angeles, USA	400 m hurdles
	7th			4 × 400 m relay
1985	1st	Asian Championships	Jakarta, Indonesia	100 m
	1st			200 m
	1st			400 m
	1st			400 m hurdles
	3rd			4 × 100 m relay
	1st			4 x 400 m relay
	7th	World Cup	Canberra, Australia	400 m
	5th			400 m hurdles
	8th			4 x 400 m relay
1986	2nd	Asian Games	Seoul, South Korea	100 m
	1st			200 m
	1st			400 m
	1st			400 m hurdles
	1st			4 x 400 m relay
1987	2nd	Asian Championships	Singapore	100 m
	1st			400 m
	1st			400 m hurdles
	2nd			4 x 100 m relay
	1st			4 x 400 m relay
	DNS	World Championships	Rome, Italy	400 m
	6th (semifinal)			400 m hurdles
	8th (heats)			4 x 400 m relay
1988	7th (heats)	Olympic Games	Seoul, South Korea	400-m hurdles
1989	2nd	Asian Championships	New Delhi, India	100 m
	1st			200 m
	1st			400 m
	1st			400 m hurdles
	2nd			4 x 100 m relay
	1st			4 x 400 m relay
1990	4th	Asian Games	Beijing, China	200 m
	2nd			400 m
	2nd			4 x 100 m relay
	2nd			4 x 400 m relay
1994	4th	Asian Games	Hiroshima, Japan	200 m
	5th			4 x 100 relay
	2nd			4 x 400 m relay
1998	3rd	Asian Championships	Fukuoka, Japan	200 m
	3rd			400 m
	1st			4 x 100 m relay
	2nd			4 x 400 m relay
	6th	Asian Games	Bangkok, Thailand	400 m
	4th			4 x 100 m relay

On the 6th of July, 2022, the Indian government selected celebrated sportsperson Usha for the Rajya Sabha.  Since stepping down from competitive sports in 2000, P.T. Usha and her pupils from the Usha School of Athletics in Kinalur, located in the state of Kerala’s Kozhikode, have consistently participated in national athletics events.

The 400-metre hurdles event at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles remains Usha’s most memorable and bittersweet moment. Although she narrowly missed out on the bronze medal by just 1/100th of a second.

Also Read – Meet Samir Banerjee, the New Wimbledon Junior Champion

Awards and Honours of P.T. Usha

Here is a list of Awards and Honours by PT Usha – 

Awards and Honours	Year
Arjuna Award	1983
Padma Shri	1985
Honorary Doctorate (D.Litt.) conferred by Kannur University	2000
Honorary Doctorate (D.Sc.) conferred by IIT Kanpur	2017
Honorary Doctorate (D.Litt.) conferred by the University of Calicut	2018
IAAF Veteran Pin	2019

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