Fast, faster, fastest

Sprinter P T Usha looks back at her career and forward to the future of athletics.

She was probably the first woman athlete to put India on the athletics map. Yet it seems a long time ago when, in 1984, PT Usha was a whisker away from winning a medal at the Los Angeles Olympics. Admits Usha, "I was unlucky but then I don't have any regrets with how my career turned out to be."

Usha was recently in the news for the wrong reasons, when long jumper Anju Bobby George branded her as "not a world-class athlete". She responds, "I was hurt by what she said but then I don't want to add anything as she is preparing for Beijing."

Beijing brings us to the topic of India's chances at the Games. Usha candidly admits that the prospects don't look good, "at least in athletics". And Usha feels that it's all down to not having proper training and facilities.

"The talent is there but the problem is that there isn't enough support for them to do well." One reason why she went ahead and opened a sports academy of her own a few years ago.

Aptly called USHA, which stands for Usha School of Athletics, it has been doing well and training young athletes. "After many years of experience in athletics,

I am convinced that what we lack in India is not talent but the basic, modern and scientific facilities."

Usha has managed to rope in a lot of sponsors for her academy and thanks the Kerala government for its support. The government provided her with 30 acres of land as well as financial assistance, to begin with. "This is what is required on a mass level if we want to produce world-class athletes."

When she ended her professional career almost a decade ago, Usha said that she reflected on how she could help nurture talent in a better way. "I don't want youngsters to face the same problems as I did and that's why the idea of an academy cropped up."

Usha feels that it was a monumental task in her times to make a career in athletics, and unfortunately that hasn't changed yet. But she feels that "If we train our young Indian sports talents, nothing "" not even Olympic medals "" is unachievable."

The method of study, exercise, diet, psychological counselling, attitude-building, et cetera, are carefully planned and scientifically devised with the help of internationally-acclaimed experts. "If talent alone got medals, we wouldn't have been lagging so far behind," she adds.

Usha, however, is of the opinion, that a lot of the formula for success boils down to the involvement of the government as well as the federations. And it has to start at the school level. Problems like doping, which have threatened the careers of many Indian athletes, should be handled more professionally, according to her .

Her aim is to have a crop of young athletes who can represent the country in the 2012 Olympics. She takes youngsters between the ages of 11 and 17 and then works with them.

"It is important for the kids to see whether they have a future or not in sports. Unfortunately, many back out in spite of being talented. The first aim is to get them ready for the junior level and take it step by step."

Usha expects students from her academy to make a name for themselves over the next few years, as they have shown in state and national level junior meets.

"The hope is there that they would do the country proud," she says, "but they should be ready to make sacrifices." For various personal and financial reasons, a lot of them do back out. But they aren't too be blamed.

"Can they realistically see a career in running?" she asks. We need to be at a level where kids are actually inspired to take up running or any other form of athletics.

Usha will be part of the Olympic torch relay, and she's happy that her achievements are still recognised. "It shows that whatever I did for my country hasn't gone unnoticed."

As an athlete she proved everyone wrong, and now she is determined to prove that with her academy as well. For the sake of Indian athletics, let's hope she does that.