Yet to decide about the Sydney Olympics

SHE LOOKED fresh and happy, reclining on a comfortable cane chair, on the verandah of her house. It was a pleasant, sunny morning and she was enjoying the quiet air in her sleepy, little home-town.

She had come home after been away for nearly three months, but it had seemed much longer. It was lovely to be back with her seven- year-old son and her husband. On tours she had missed her son so much that she could not even sleep properly for many nights. P. T. Usha had brought home some pleasant memories with her this time. Quite unlike last time she returned from a tour, when she came back from the Bangkok Asian Games empty handed and heart broken.

Now, she had won three more medals at an international meet, and at 35, had set a new National record, not to mention the sprint doubles she won effortlessly in the recent meets at home. No wonder she was sporting a broad smile.

On that warm morning at her home in Payyoli, in the evening of her career, India's finest sportswoman of the 20th century talked about her exploits on the track. The other day she was chosen, along with hockey legend Dhyan Chand, as the Indian sportspersons of the century. Yet again, as the great lady spoke, you felt fascinated by her story and earthy candour. Excerpts from an interview:

Question: What keeps you going?

Answer: Some people recently said that I was still running because I was after money. It is pretty absurd to say something like that really. All I got this season from the track was just Rs. 5,000. Nor am I running for glory. I have had more than my share of it over the last couple of decades.

I am still running because I want to improve even now. I have always given my best to anything I have done in my life, not just on the track. I know I am far from finished. I want to run 200m in sub-23. That motivation alone keeps me going.

Q: How important was the National record you set in the inter- State meet at Lucknow to you? You rewrote your own 10-year-old record.

A: All records are special, but this one was particularly so. I had been smelling the 200m record for quite some time while I was nearing and equalling it, but somehow was not quite able to break it. I had clocked 23.3s (hand-time) at the Federation Cup in Bangalore, and felt I was in good form. Before the inter-State championship, I had also run in the inter-Railway meet at Chennai for practice. So I was geared up for Lucknow, and determined to set the record.

I was slightly concerned when the heats were delayed by a couple of hours. But still the final was to be held as scheduled, so there was very little time for me to recover, and I was feeling exhausted after the heats. Still I clocked 23.25, bettering my 23.27 of 1989. It would have been even better if there was someone to push me harder. I thought I saw Vinita Tripathi somewhere, but I really hadn't.

The track at Lucknow did not help either. It was as bad as the one at Thiruvananthapuram, where I had run my first race of the season. The track was hard and it took a toll on my knees and I was even doubtful for the SAF Games.

Q: You broke your own record after a decade. Doesn't it speak badly of the athletics talent in the country? You are still India's best woman sprinter.

A: Yes, it is disappointing to note that there is little competition. I really wish there were some girls who would push me a bit hard. That would help me clock even better timings. Today's girls are not ambitious enough.

Q: At Kathmandu, you clocked 11.43 in the 100m and won the silver. It was not a bad performance, was it? It was your career's second best timing in the event. Were you surprised at the timing?

A: Yes, I was. Honestly, I did not expect it. After my 11.39 in 1985, this was the first time I was touching 11.4. Then it was also my first 100m outside the country since 1989. It was the stiff competition from Sri Lanka's Damayanthi Darsha which made me run that race well. I think running against me helped her too. I wish I could run another race with her.

I am impressed by Damayanthi, she has the talent. But I feel her career should be carefully handled. Why did she have to run in all the four races in a meet like the SAF Games? It would have been all right if it was the Asian Games. She should not allow her Federation to exploit her. I think she should concentrate only on the 400m and should participate in strong competitions abroad.

Q: You've done well in all the meets this season.

A: I had worked hard on the Payyoli beach after the disappointments at Bangkok. I found it much easier to work here, rather than the camps. Nowadays, I can't stay away from my son for long. At camps my sleeps often get disturbed. So here at home, I can sleep and work well.

Q: Why don't you want to run the 4x400m relay any longer?

A: Because I am fed up of petty politics in the relay teams. They fielded me in the relay squad only when I was at my best. Even when I was the fourth best, they kept me out. Before Bangkok, one athlete said she did not mind even losing the medal as long as Usha was not in the team. They treated me shabbily at Bangkok.

In 1988 they tried four times but could not qualify for the Seoul Olympics. When I ran, the team qualified, but they did not want me to run. The Chief de mission told me that I would be sent home on flight if I did not run for trials, just three days before the competition.

At Kathmandu though, there were plans to include me in the longer relay squad at the last minute. But that would have been at the expense of another girl in the team. So I opted out, having had the experience of being excluded at the eleventh hour myself.

Q: Talking about relays, do you feel nostalgic about that fabulous Indian relay quartet? Shiny, Vandana Shanbagh, Vandana Rao and yourself - that was quite a team. You clocked 3:31.55 at Rome in 1987 and that National record seems to be safe.

A: Yes, that was a great team to run with, I don't think we would get anything like that in the near future. There was a wonderful feeling of team spirit among us. We were there always to help each other out. Vandana Rao, you know, would often be scared before the start of a race. But we would talk to her, and make her feel comfortable. I really enjoyed running the relays, because you are running not for yourself, but for India. Nothing gives me more pleasure than that.

We received baton on the run, and not standing. No one seems to be bothered about it these days. Then unlike today's teams, all of us were 400m runners, and not 800m or 1,500m runners. A sprinter can run 400m well, because he has the innate speed and the endurance can be achieved, whereas it is difficult to attain speed. Sadly, we tend to forget this fact when we choose a relay team. Where are the natural 400m runners?

Q: Is age catching up with you?

A: Today I require much longer time to recover. In my prime, I could run three races on a day, and would ask for more. But now after a run, I need at least two days to recover and to get ready for the next one.

Q: What do you think of today's athletes?

A: They really don't seem to have the dedication to the sport. Talents are there, but the drive is lacking. And their ambition is limited to getting a job, or getting admission to a professional course, or winning a medal at the National Games. They should have bigger goals. I often tell the young girls that they could achieve everything with determination, hard work and single-mindedness. They are not even half dedicated as me at 35. Come to think of it, if I had got married at the proper age, I would have been running with my daughter.

Q: Are you impressed by Sunita Rani?

A: Yes. She looks good. But she should be nurtured properly. What was the need to make her run 10,000m in the morning and 1,500m in the evening at the SAF Games?

Q: What do you think is wrong with Indian athletics?

A: Too many things. Where are the tracks, to begin with? In Europe every club has a quality track. The present state of most tracks in India is horrible. You could sustain injuries, running on them. I wish there was a track at Kozhikode. They built a big stadium in Kochi, but it is for cricket. So no scope for a track there. Talking of cricket, I attended the inauguration of a marathon event recently. A former Indian cricketer was also there, and I was told he got Rs. 1,00,000 for attending the function. And someone told me, ``Madam, you should also charge for inaugurations.'' Yes. Indian athletics could do with some money.

Nothing about Indian athletics is scientific. The training methods are all wrong. I am a victim of wrong training. The injuries are not treated properly. And there is no planning. Athletes are not treated as individuals at camps, but as a group. So everyone is prescribed a similar diet, which of course is quite foolish.

When we conduct international meets, what we get are third rate athletes from abroad. We need strong opposition if we want to improve. If we want the best out our best athletes, they should be taken care of properly. Here everyone - be it genuine medal prospects, or the 70-odd people who are there just to make up the numbers - gets the same facilities.

Q: What do you have to say about the issue of performance enhancing drugs in Indian context?

A: People are taking drugs, no doubt about it. Or else how would you explain the dip in performances of some of our athletes at meets abroad? In any important meet in the country, you could see any number of disposed syringes in toilets. Our athletes now are capable of taking the injections themselves. They get the drugs from abroad by paying huge amounts. I am afraid the malady is widely spread among our athletes.

Q: Were you ever tempted?

A: No, I wasn't. I never thought about it, having seen the horrifying after effects of drugs. I have seen young athletes suffering miserably. You run only when you are young. You have a life to live after that, so why should you misuse your body for transient gains?

Q: What next?

A: I need a few months rest to get back to form. I definitely would like to have another crack at the 200m. I am yet to decide about the Sydney Olympics, but I am rather realistic about it and have no illusions.

P. K. AJITH KUMAR

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