PT Usha appointed Athletes Commission member of Asian Athletics Association; former sprinter calls it 'great honour '

New Delhi: Legendary Indian sprinter PT Usha has been made a member of the Athletes Commission of the Asian Athletics Association in recognition of her stellar achievements at the continental stage. The 55-year-old Usha, who was the leading sprinter of her time in Asia, will be one of the six members of the AAA Athletes Commission, to be headed by 1992 Olympics gold medallist hammer thrower Andrey Abduvaliyev of Uzbekistan. “I have accepted the appointment as a member of the AAA Athletes Commission. It is a great honour for me and for the country,” Usha told PTI on phone.

It is an incredible honour to be part of the Member of Athletes Commission of the Asian Athletic Association. I express my sincere gratitude! 🙏 pic.twitter.com/rAGkMkrvBh

— P.T. USHA (@PTUshaOfficial) August 13, 2019

The other members of the Athletes Commission are Wang Yu of China, 2012 London Olympics gold medallist triple jumper Olga Rypakova of Kazakhstan, Lee Hup Wei of Malaysia and Saad Shaddad of Saudi Arabia. Newly-appointed AAA Secretary General A Shuggumarran congratulated Usha on her being appointed as one of the members of the AAA Athletes Commission. “I am confident that you will bring your sound knowledge and expertise and we look forward to your continued contribution to the development and success of Asian Athletics,” he said in the letter of appointment. Usha, known as ‘Payyoli Express’, blazed the tracks at the Asian stage in the 1980s. She won four gold medals and one bronze in the 1986 Asian Games in Seoul. A year before, she won five gold and a bronze in the Asian Championships in Jakarta. She missed an Olympic medal in the 1984 Games in Los Angles by a whisker as she finished fourth in women’s 400m hurdles, losing the bronze by one-hundredth of a second.