Exclusive Interview with IOA President
By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 12 Feb: Former Asian Games Gold Medallist in Athletics, PT Usha is currently President of the Indian Olympic Association. She is the first career sportsperson and first woman to hold this coveted position. She has had an illustrious sports career spanning over two decades. Usha’s talent was evident when she won multiple medals at the 1982 Asian Games in New Delhi, including two individual silver medals in the 100m and 200m races. This was followed by her participation in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, where she narrowly missed winning a bronze medal in the 400m hurdles by 1/100th of a second. She is currently also a Rajya Sabha MP nominated by the Modi Government. In Dehradun to participate and oversee the 38th National Games being hosted in Uttarakhand, she spoke exclusively with Garhwal Post on various relevant topics and generously praised Uttarakhand Government for very well organised National Games. Some excerpts:
What is your opinion about the ongoing National Games in Uttarakhand?
These games have been very well organised. You see, Uttarakhand had shown very keen interest in hosting these national games and the Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami himself visited my office in Delhi to pursue this goal. I am happy to note that very good international level infrastructure facilities have been created by Uttarakhand to host these games at several venues in Dehradun, Haridwar, Haldwani, Rishikesh, Tehri, Rudrapur, Khatima, Almora and Pithoragarh, etc. After reaching Uttarakhand, I have visited most of the venues and found all the arrangements highly well organised. You also have a highly proactive sports minister in Rekha Arya. We had set up a 10 member GTCC (Games Technical Conduct Committee) which has ensured that games are held very systematically. The games have been organised at an international level. I have witnessed so many national games in the past and I can say without any doubt that there is a huge difference in the level of organisation of games as compared to the past. Huge improvement! The new infrastructure that has been installed in the state would help the players the most in the future.
When you played, there were several players like Shiny Abraham, MD Valsamma and Mercy Kuttan, etc., alongside you, who made Indian Athletics proud. Now there are not many names apart from players like Neeraj Chopra in Indian Athletics. What is your opinion about the current status of Athletics in India?
You are right, in my time there were several players like Shiny Abraham and Valsamma who had long international career in Athletics. Now I can only name a handful like Neeraj Chopra. The talent is there but some systemic changes have to be incorporated. In the present, many players come up and perform well and show promise for the future. But in the next games or competitions, they are gone and are replaced by new players. Not many players have staying capacity or longevity in the games. One basic flaw is that athletes are trying to specialise from a young age itself. I began with 100 metres sprint and ended up with 400 metres. Those who are trying to specialise at 13 to 14 years may perform well till 16 or 18 years of age but then don’t sustain for long. There are not many youngsters pursuing sprinting because it requires inborn talent, not just hard work or endurance, which is more required in longer races.
Anukriti Srivastava, with the legendary PT Usha. Pic: Bhumesh Bharti
How is your Usha School of Athletics in Kozhikode doing?
This Academy has been doing well and has produced some excellent athletes who have done well at national and international levels. However, after taking over as President of Indian Olympics Association, I had to shift my base to Delhi and therefore I am not involved in routine working of the academy and selection of new trainees has taken a back seat. However, now I plan to take up selection of new trainees in March. Another issue is that of finding the right type of sponsors.
Who are the budding players from your academy?
There are many who have done well. Tintu Luka had done well in the past. There are others like Jisna Mathew, Shilpa, Ashwini Nair, Ganga and Anjali, etc.
What about your tenure as IOA President?
Running on the track, coaching, and handling sports administration are entirely different from each other. That’s why I am repeatedly asking for a professional team. The team should be dedicated and passionate. I want Indian sports to reach new heights, where we are not just participants but strong contenders for medals in every major international event. My dream is to see India as a global sporting powerhouse, where young athletes have the best opportunities to shine. I have no agenda other than making the IOA a truly apex body for sports nationwide.
India has been trying to host the 2036 Olympics. Do you think India is ready and can get to host Olympics in 2036?
This is our Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision and it should happen. I fully endorse and support it. You see. India has successful organised many National Games, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. Even a relatively smaller state like Uttarakhand has now developed good sports infrastructure and has organised the national games in many of its venues in a very systematic manner. Even the Olympics are organised in different cities and venues in a country and this can be done very well by India as well. Most of the sporting events are same whether it is national games, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games or Olympics. So, India can do it. Even in the current national games, there are thousands of players participating, so India is in a position to host Olympics very successfully. We already have good sports infrastructure in Ahmedabad. Bhubaneshwar and in Delhi. Plus, we will be adding to the existing infrastructure. In modern times, Olympic games can be held in several cities, with each city hosting different sporting events.
