PT Usha gets SJFI Lifetime Achievement award

New Delhi, February 4

Sprint Queen PT Usha, who is also the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president, was conferred with the Sports Journalists Federation of India (SJFI) Lifetime Achievement award by Delhi Sports Journalists Association (DSJA) today.

Usha was presented with a medallion, a memento and a citation. Also present on the occasion was BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla and former shooter Jaspal Rana.

Usha, a Rajya Sabha MP, was happy that her achievements were still being valued, long after she retired. “I am grateful that my career achievements are being remembered till today. During my time, we did not have all the facilities that are available with athletes in today’s time,” she said. “They go for overseas training, and have nutritionists, sports psychologists, and sports science facilities to help them. Now that I am working at IOA, our effort is to focus on the Paris Olympics. After that we will shift our attention to fulfilling Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to make India a sporting power by 2036.”

Usha is the fifth Indian sports legend to get the award after Vijay Amritraj, Prakash Padukone, Sunil Gavaskar and Milkha Singh.

Rajeev Shukla, also a Rajya Sabha MP, said he was confident that the sprint legend would be able to handle the difficult task of handling faction-ridden IOA.

“PT Usha deserves this honour. She is an icon and a guiding spirit for the sportspersons in the country. Now she has been given a difficult task of heading the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and we are confident she will be able to navigate through these waters effectively,” he said.