The Golden Girl of India, also named as Payyoli express after an express train, is completing her 54 years. This is the time to review the success of the renowned lady, who established many records on her name and won 101 medals till her retirement. The athlete was born in the small village named Payyoli in Kozhikode district, Kerala. Her birth date was 27th June 1964 and her parents named her Pilavullakandi Thekkeparambil Usha.
Usha was first noticed in 1976 when she was rewarded with Rs 250 by State Government for her good performance in a district level competition. There her coach O. M. Nambiar recognized her passion and talent and started to train her. This training and her efforts lead her to gain many awards at state and national level. She made her first international debut through Olympics in Mexico(1980) at the age of 16 and became the youngest Indian sprinter. She didn’t get success at her starting point and got eliminated as she finished 5th in 100m Race.
In 1984’s Los Angeles Olympics she missed the bronze medal by 1/100th of a second. After that, she appeared in 1985 Jakarta Asian Championships and gathered five Golds and one Bronze medals in her accounts. In 1986 Asian Games that were held in Seoul, the queen of Indian track and field won 4 Gold and 1 Silver Medal. P.T. Usha has a record on her name by finishing the 400m hurdles at 55.42 seconds at Los Angeles. This was special as the game was added first time to the women athletics.
The successful sprinter took a decision to take a break in 1991, due to her marriage to V. Srinivasan. Post this she made her comeback in 1993. In 1998 she took part in 1998 Asian Championships in Athletics with her team and they won Gold by setting the national record of 44.43 s.
For her illustrious performance throughout her career, Indian Government felicitated her with Arjun Awards and Padma Shri in 1984. In Jakarta Asian Athletic Meet, 1985 she named as Greatest woman athlete. She was honoured with Best Athlete in Asia Award in years 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987 and 1989. She received World Trophy for best Athlete in 1985 and 1986. The Golden Girl was also rewarded with Adidas Golden Shoe award for the best athlete in 1986 Seoul Asian Games. The University of Calicut decorated her journey with there honorary award D.Litt. (Honoris causa) in 2018. She was named sportsperson of the century and the sportswoman of the millennium by the Indian Olympic Association.
Usha took her final break and announced her retirement in 2000, post which she opened a Usha School of Athletics where she trains future P.T. Usha’s of India. She also published her autobiography “Golden Girl: The Autobiography of P. T. Usha” with her monumental success and her passion.
We wish her very happy birthday and hoping that the girl with train’s speed would cover a long journey with golden experiences!