Track legend PT Usha is preparing young girl athletes in her hometown of Kerala to turn them into contenders for the Asiad and Olympics, by means of crowdfunding. She has already raised Rs. 20 lakh, but will need Rs. 27 lakh for full-fledged training for the 16 athletes belonging to her school.
Usha School was set up in Kohzikode back in 2002 to train young girls. The school offers free training, food and shelter to its athletes. Until this year, the school was kept running through government grants and individual donors. The crowdfunding campaign has currently ended, but contributions are still welcome on the site ‘Milaap’. It takes around 3-6 lakhs per year to train each athlete.
Speaking to TOI, Usha said, “In the past, celebrities like Mohandas Pai and Kumari Shibulal came forward to sponsor five to six athletes each; Sudha Murthy was kind enough to give us Rs 20 lakh once. Our mud track was donated by the state government and the synthetic one by the Centre. Our hostels were built by Sobha Developers.”
The athletes at the school begin their day with morning sessions at 5.30 am, right up to 9.30 am followed by regular schools. They return back to the grounds for practice at 4.30 pm. “Athletics is our focus, but our kids also pursue a formal education at nearby schools and colleges. Some of them scored above 90%,” said Usha.
