Former Olympian PT Usha gets nominated for Rajya Sabha

The legendary athlete was congratulated by Honourable PM Modi for the appointment.

PT Usha has been nominated for the Rajya Sabha, which is the upper house of the Indian Parliament. On the occasion, the honourable Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi took to social media to say words of praise for the athlete. 

“The remarkable PT Usha Ji is an inspiration for every Indian. Her accomplishments in sports are widely known but equally commendable is her work to mentor budding athletes over the last several years.” the Prime Minister said while acknowledging her efforts in nurturing talent.

The 58-year-old receives the Rajya Sabha nomination from the Presidential Quota. She joins an exalted company of individuals who also received the nomination on Wednesday. The said people who, along with PT Usha, also got the nomination are Ilaiyaraaja, Veerendra Heggade and KV Vijayendra Prasad.

More Than A Legend

PT Usha is the benchmark and a living inspiration for thousands of Indian athletes. Born in Kerala's Kozhikode district, she is an icon and a trailblazer for Indian women in sports. “The Payyoli Express” has represented the country at various international sporting events and won many medals, thus bringing a lot of pride to the nation. World Junior Invitational Meet, Asian Championships, and Asian Games are some of the major events where PT Usha made her mark and won medals for India.

On her course to greatness, she also broke and set plenty of national records. The legendary sprinter came mighty close to winning India’s first-ever medal in athletics during the 1984 Olympic Games. She finished fourth in the women's 400m hurdles category and lost out on winning the bronze medal by a whisker.

Her efforts in Indian sports, in general, have received a lot of recognition in the past as well. She is an Arjuna Award and Padma Shri winner as well. Post her retirement as an athlete, PT Usha started the Usha School of Athletics, which strives to provide world-class facilities to talented youngsters and create winners of tomorrow. 

Her nomination to the Rajya Sabha is a welcome move. Getting praise from the honourable Prime Minister himself is a really impressive achievement. PT Usha is committed to working for the betterment of Indian sports, athletics in particular. Her work is extremely commendable. As long someone like PT Usha is working towards building an India that is proficient in sports, then the athletes of the future are in great hands. Her influence will only be beneficial moving forward.

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