P T Usha wants to groom Bihar women athletes
Former sprint queen P T Usha wants to groom women athletes from Bihar at her Usha School of Athletics Academy in Kerala so that the budding sportswomen, who have immense talent but lack proper guidance, could scale new heights.
Usha, on a short visit to Patna to flag off a half-marathon on Sunday, was speaking to select group of newsmen on the sidelines of the function which was organised to celebrate women empowerment.
The first Indian woman, who reached the final of an Olympic event but missed the bronze by 1/100th of a second, was on her maiden trip to Bihar. She, however, expressed her gratitude to the two big leaders of the State.
“I am indebted to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad for their generosity,” she said.
Throwing more light on the issue, Usha said when Nitish was the Railway Minister he had promoted her to a Class I officer in the Indian Railways as a recognition to the feat she had achieved, while it was Lalu, who as the Railway Minister, got her First Class AC pass renewed.
Usha is at present a Class I railway officer posted at Palakkad in Kerala, where she also grooms upcoming athletes.
Arguing on behalf of women, Usha welcomed the move to reserve 33 per cent of the seats for women in Parliament and State legislatures.
“Women in India are so highly talented that they should be given adequate chance to come forward and display their skills in their respective field,” argued the ex-sprint queen.
Though Usha was not very optimistic about India’s prospect in the forthcoming Commonwealth Games, she conveyed her best wishes to Anju Bobby George.
DH News Service
