The Rediff Special/ George Iype

Each morning, even before the sun's rays could lighten the horizon, a frail-looking young girl would walk towards the seashore at Payyoli in Kerala’s Kozhikode district. Where, even as the rest of her village slumbered on, she would sprint the length of the vast beach.

Over the last two decades, Pilavullakandi Thekkeparambil Usha continued running, bringing fame and glory to India in the difficult, competitive world of athletics. P T Usha retired from active athletics two years ago, but it was not because she was fatigued. Today, at her office-cum-residence in Payyoli, her life is not just devoted to her 10-year-old son, Ujjwal.

The 38-year-old Payyoli Express — as Usha is called — is fulfilling a dream she missed achieving by one-hundredth of a second.

"The saddest part of my career has been missing the Olympic medal by one-hundredth of a second. I want to bring glory to the country. I want these boys and girls to get Olympic gold medals for India," says Usha, as she leads two dozen young boys and girls to her old haunting ground, the Payyoli beach.

Helped by her husband, sportsman and police sub-inspector V Sreenivasan, India’s golden girl is weaving an Olympic dream for her country. She is chalking out the nitty-gritty of the Usha School of Athletics, India’s first and biggest private sporting school opened by an athlete.

"In the last two years, I have devoted all my energy and time to this project. I have knocked at almost every door, from government offices to private companies, pleading for money and facilities to start my athletics school. It has been a tough mission. But I am thrilled that it is now a reality," smiles the stouthearted lady. On May 29, she finally witnessed the inauguration of her pet project, the Usha School of Athletics at Koyilandy, in Kerala’s Kozhikode district.

The mission of her school, says Usha, is to see an Indian on the victory podium of the 2008 Olympic Games. "I am sure that, in the next six years, one of my kids will do it for India," she says confidently.

In fact, even the advertisement announcing the opening of Usha’s sports school says, "At the Usha School of Athletics, our sole aim is to earn Olympic gold medals for India. We need your skills and experience to achieve this. This is not a business for us. What we offer is beyond financial terms. Money cannot buy the self-actualisation of one's feelings."

The Usha School of Athletics began as India's premier athlete's dream. However, both she and Sreenivasan soon realised this was a project that demanded a huge inflow of funds. An initial estimate made by some of some of Usha's sport-enthusiast financial consultants worked out to a whopping Rs 31 crore (Rs 310 million). "That much money?" Usha recalls her bewilderment. "I said it was impossible."

Slowly, though, Usha came to accept the fact that a full-fledged athletics school meant a huge financial investment. She reduced the initial estimate to around Rs 15 crore (Rs 150 million) and began travelling across the country for funds. Usha’s first trip was to New Delhi, to the ministry of sports. Her meetings with officials and various ministers in Delhi proved an eye-opener. "Some of them pretended they did not even know me. I knew then that I could get no funds from the government of India."

Usha was nothing if not tenacious. She went around the country, meeting business barons and film personalities. She even approached the Kerala government. This time round, her experiences were much more positive.

When Usha told film star Sunil Dutt of her desire, he immediately wrote out a personal cheque of Rs 50,000. Then two senior officers of India’s blue-chip software company, Infosys, chipped in. T V Mohandas Pai — director, chief financial officer and head (administration and facilities) — pitched in with a large personal donation (Usha refuses to disclose the amount). Then S D Shibulal — co-founder, director and head (customer delivery) — promised he would sponsor five students.

The Kerala government, too, pitched in. To begin with, it gave Usha a Rs 15 lakh (Rs 1.5 million) donation and allotted 31 acres of land at Koyilandy — some five kilometers from Usha’s residence at Payyoli — for the sports school. "The Kerala government and the people of my village have been very positive. I am happy that my dream has become a reality, though I have now to run across many more hurdles," Usha says.

The Indian Institutes of Management at Kozhikode and Ahmedabad have agreed to assist with the management of the school. The Central Institute of Food Technology has offered to take care of the dietary needs of these budding athletes. A Gulf-based organisation has promised it will help build a hostel and a gymnasium, while a business group has promised to pitch in with a modern scientific lab.

Sreenivasan estimates it will be five years before the school is completely ready. Then, it will include a stadium with an eight lane, 400 metre track; a swimming pool; a gymnasium; a school; an office and hostel accommodation for the students. "We are not waiting for the project to be completely ready before we start training the kids. So we have started training them on the beach," he says.

The school has already begun functioning in a modest, 3,000 square feet, rented building. Already, Usha has conducted coaching camps for 24 students between 11-14 years of age. "I selected them from a pool of over 400 children from various states," she says. Even at this stage, the Usha School of Athletics is ensuring it meets all the expenses of its students. "Money should not deter quality students in sports," she insists.

Meanwhile, her students persevere on Payyoli beach. At the end of a sweat-inducing training session, a psychology professor now attached to the Usha School of Athletics assesses the motivational levels of the students, all of whom fall in the age-group of 11-14 years. "They are smart kids. They will not prove Usha wrong. They will bring Olympic gold medals to India," he says.

Usha has also finalised on the staff who will coach her students. They are headed by her mentor, O M Nambiar, who is credited with discovering Usha. Others in the coaching team might include former Sports Authority of India coaches J S Bhatia and Dr Lakshmi Shaw and former Indian Olympians like Suresh Babu, T C Yohannan and Shiny Wilson.

Nambiar is thrilled with the progress Usha has made in converting her dream into reality. "It is a great feeling. It is a fine project that Usha has come up with. She has done us Indians proud by becoming the golden girl. She wants to set an example for others, especially when sports is a subject most neglected by the Indian government. I am happy to be associated with Usha's sports school," he says.

Usha, on her part, points out that Indian sportspersons suffer because of a lack of scientific training. "My school will give the kids the kind of scientific training that will get India gold medals in future Olympics," she says. "If I have been considered to have had extraordinary talent, then it should be possible for me to bring out the best from the specially selected pupils in my school."

Thanks to Usha's determination, Indian athletics is looking a new future, whose first chapter is being written by the golden girl who burnished India’s image in the international athletics arena during her time.

Design: Lynette Menezes

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