Hail to these historical women of India’s athletics! Their talent alone didn’t guarantee a ticket to the Olympics or other competitions. It was their never-say-die attitude on journeys fraught with highs and lows, resistance, gender bias and prejudice, controversy, injuries, and comebacks.
With the Commonwealth Games in the offing this year and the Paris Olympics not far behind (2024), preparations have begun in full swing. India’s seven medals at the Tokyo Olympics are fresh in our memory.
All major sporting events bring the familiar ring of names of the athletes who have left their indelible mark on the track. The Payyoli Express and The Flying Sikh have given way to The Dhing Express and Nano (Dutee Chand).
So, I’m reminded of an article published by India Today on 15th August 1977. It read:””After 30 years of Independence, the sporting scene in India is still one of unrelieved gloom”” It was a time when hockey was relied upon heavily to keep India on the sporting world map. Then, India’s post-1985 Cricket World Cup win made it a nation obsessed with cricket.
A decade after that article was written, a paradigm shift took place. The drought-like conditions changed dramatically. Names like PT Usha, MD Valsamma, Shiny Abraham Wilson, Mercy Mathew Kuttan, Vandana Rao, Ashwini and Pushpa Nachappa, and Saraswati Dey Saha (among others) set the track on fire.
Today, one might know PT Usha, aka The Payyoli Express. as the most prominent track athlete from India because of her illustrious career, including the photo finish at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics where she stood 4th in the 400m final. Romanian Cristieana Cojocaru beat her by 1/100th of a second as she dipped her head across the finish line.
Today, India boasts solid relay teams. Back then, though, it was the quartet of Shiny Wilson, MD Valsama, PT Usha, and Vandana Rao who set the standard for Indian women athletes. At the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984, the historic quartet entered the women’s 4×400 relay heats, finishing seventh overall and setting an Asian record of 3.32.49 seconds.
Shiny Wilson (photo, Athletics Federation of India)
Out of that group, Shiny Wilson represented India in four Olympic Games, three Asian Games, six Asian Championships, and seven SAF Games. Overall, she has represented India internationally more than 75 times.
She has been the National champion in 800 mts for 14 years! She returned from matrimony, then motherhood, and produced an 800m national record, breaking stereotypes around athletes fading away. A streak like that speaks volumes about an athlete’s endurance, mentally and physically. She has been bestowed with the Arjuna Award and the Padma Shri. In the words of the Athletics Federation of India, “one of the most endearing qualities is her readiness to assist the AFI in every possible way, sharing her thoughts and insights and opinion with candor.”
Kerala has produced numerous track and field athletes over the years. KM Beenamol, Tintu Luka, Anju Bobby George, and Jisna Mathew are a few to name. MD Valsamma was the first woman to win an international competition on Indian soil. At the 1982 Asian Games in New Delhi, she won the individual gold medal in the 400m hurdles in a time of 58.47 seconds. For her exploits, Valsamma won the Arjuna Award and later the Padma Shri.
Another name of note is Vandana Rao, who is accorded respect and admiration. This athlete from Mangaluru ran her first 100 mts in school. Her performance made her teachers take note of her. But when her father didn’t allow her to pursue athletics due to family-held traditions, her sports teacher persuaded him to “let her explore his talent, which was waiting to explode.” Her father finally gave in, and Vandana went on to make history.
She recalls her training days this way: “It was a hectic schedule. We would train for several hours every morning and evening, But at that time, we just enjoyed it.” There was a time when she gave up, and her father backed her and pushed her, turning her into her biggest supporter. The comeback gift she gave the nation was the Los Angeles 4×400 relay record in 1984.
PT Usha and her story in Indian athletics are like milk and sugar. It only sweetens the experience of tracing the history of athletics in post-independence India. Current-day performances of athletes like Hima Das, and Dutee Chand, unavoidably bring back the image of The Sprint Queen from Kerala, who went from being first noticed by O.M Nambiar in 1977 (he passed away in 2021) to being coached by him for a long time, to currently being a coach herself at the Usha School Of Athletics, which she set up in 2002 in Balaserry, Kerala.
PT Usha (photo, Hindustan Times)
In one of her interviews, Usha laments that a lack of exposure robbed her of her bronze medal in the photo finish event in Los Angeles. She hopes to fill this vacuum (in coordination with the national and state athletic bodies) for India to finally produce a medal winner in the track events at the Olympics.
As the stories of these women show, their talent alone didn’t guarantee a ticket to the Olympics or other competitions. It was their never-say-die attitude combined with making the most of whatever facilities they were provided. Their journeys were fraught with highs and lows, family resistance, resilience in dealing with gender biases and prejudices, controversies, injuries, and comebacks.
As we progress, it is important to look back, both as a nation and as individuals, to see how far we have come, and to understand how to go forward. We are the world’s second-largest country, meaning we have a reservoir of potential athletes whose talent can be tapped into and molded. It is time again to bring back the bling of India’s athletics!
