What we learn from autobiography of PT Usha, " Golden Girl"?
Answers
PT Usha was born in a village named Payyoli, and went on to become our Golden Girl! Here are some facts about her.
Young PT Usha was a bright student during her school years, and her parents thought that she would become a teacher like her mother. Initially, her father was apprehensive of her taking up sports as he didn’t want her to get injured and knew very little about the world of sports.
In 1983, when PT Usha requested that OM Nambiar be her coach, the government approved her request. As a result, she became India’s first athlete to have a personal coach. Nambiar was always proud of Usha’s potential and performance, and credits his own popularity to the athlete.
AK Kutty, who coached athlete MD Valsamma, made a statement that if Valsamma had trained on a synthetic track, she would have beaten Usha. The latter took this as a challenge, she kept the media clipping under her pillow and used it to motivate herself before the 1984 Olympics.
At the 1985 Asian Meet in Jakarta, Usha’s arch rival at the time, Lydia de Vega as well as her father continuously complained about the Indian sprinter after every race, suspicious of her wins. Even though Usha was subjected to dope tests after each race, she won five golds and a bronze.
PT Usha’s record as an athlete remains unmatched even till date. Due to her performance and contribution to track and field, she has been given several nicknames over the years including Payyoli Express and Golden Girl, as well as the title ‘Queen of Indian track and field’