New Delhi: Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President PT Usha on Sunday asserted that the sports body is aiming to fulfil Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision to make the country a sporting powerhouse in the next 12 years.
Usha was conferred with the 'Lifetime Achievement' award by the Sports Journalists’ Federation of India (SJFI). The award consists of a Gold Medal, a citation and a memento.
59-year-old Usha said, "I am grateful that my career achievement is being remembered till today. During my time, we did not have all the facilities that are available today – overseas training, nutrition, sports psychologists, sports science, among others. Now that I am working at IOA, our effort is to focus on the Paris Olympics."
"After that, we will shift our attention to fulfilling Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision to make India a sporting power by 2036," Usha was quoted as saying in a statement issued by SJFI.
Usha had a long career, spanning between 1977 and 2000 and won 103 international medals. She has also bagged gold medals and seven silver medals in the Asian Games and competed across three editions of the Olympics.
Senior Congress leader and BCCI Vice-president Rajeev Shukla, former Indian shooter Jaspal Rana and SJFI secretary Prashant Keni among others were present on the occasion.
Shukla on his part said, "PT Usha deserves the honour. She is an icon and a guiding spirit for the sportspersons in the country. Now she has been given the difficult task of administering IOA and we are confident that she will be able to navigate through these waters effectively."
Jaspal Rana said, "Sportspersons feel happy when they are awarded. But to present an award of this stature to an athlete you have always looked up to is a different honour. PT Usha has been an idol to many sportspersons across the world."
Usha has now become the fifth member to join the elite club of SJFI Gold Medal winners with Tennis ace Vijay Amritraj, Badminton icon Prakash Padukone, veteran cricketer Sunil Gavaskar and former sprinter Late Milkha Singh.
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