Quotes from P. T. Usha

Winning the 400 meters gold at the pre-Olympics gave me a little confidence. I thought I could win a medal if I tried.

It was those medals I won at Kottayam that gave me the confidence to dream it big in athletics.

I have heard some people saying that I continue to run for the sake of money. What is money to me? I have enough of it.

If you want to be an engineer, doctor or scientist in today's world, you need athletic ability in the body and mind.

I think javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has a good chance of winning a medal at the Paris Olympics.

I used to train on the beach when I went home.

There is so much of politics in sport that I sometimes wonder how did I survive for such a long time.

When sports gets involved with petty politics from authorities and co-athletes, it becomes a nasty game.

An athlete is responsible whatever she takes - be it food supplement or whatever.

Cricket has come to take centerstage among all sports in the country today and it is therefore no surprise that the organizers are romping in added attractions, to cheer the crowd, in a bid to pay value for their money.

I brought hurdles, all ten of them, to the beach and had my hurdling sessions very close to the water. Those days, I trained on the beach for nearly three months every season with coach Nambiar. I used to run into the water, almost chasing the receding waves, and that was how I built up strength.

I fear human beings, because we cannot predict the swings of a human being. They are capable of doing anything. I really fear that.

I feel running is far easier than coaching.

No one had told us that in L.A. we would get only American food. I had no choice but to eat rice porridge without any nutrition supplement, and that definitely affected my performance in the last 35 meters of my event since I couldn't sustain the energy level.

The 1982 Asian Games champion M.D. Valsamma's coach gave a statement in the media that if Valsamma had some 15 days training on a synthetic track, she would beat me. I was very interested in the challenge. I kept that paper cutting under my bed and used to read it often.

I had to travel long distances to train on a synthetic track, which added to residual fatigue.

There should ideally be a synthetic track in every district. Athletics is tough, and needs more support.

Nobody talks about my contribution to the sport. Nobody talks about the 101 medals I have won in my 20-year career. Nobody talks about the efforts I made to attain those heights.

All I can say is that we cannot shut our eyes to Western culture if that is not going to suit ours.

Ours is a country with diversified culture and centuries-old tradition, which have to be preserved at any cost.

I have won so many awards including the Padma Shri and Arjuna Award. But all these awards do not carry the kind of prestige they did once.

Two decades in athletics is a long time in sports.

I was good in science in school and parents thought I would become a school teacher like my mother.

Athletes will get result with training and proper exposure. Money should be spent on them for exposure. We should send them for competitions in Europe.