Mining Gold In Jakarta

As she prepares to return to Indonesia as a coach for the Asian Games, Olympian P.T. Usha recalls the meet she dominated— the 1985 Asian championships in Jakarta.

- Anirudh Madhavan/kinalur

HER HAIR IN a tight, low bun, face under strain from the sun, and all of 21, Usha took to lane 5 for the 400m hurdles at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. “P.T. ‘You-sha’,” said the American commentator, “is a lady that some people think can win this race, from India.”

She did not. She missed out on bronze by one hundredth of a second, in perhaps the most replayed moment in Indian athletics.

It’s a story often told and retold— how a false start could have unnerved her, or how, had she pushed her chest out at the last second, or millisecond, she could have stood at the podium. It was, undoubtedly, the most famous moment of Usha’s career.

But, for her most dominant moment, one has to travel a year forward. The event—the Asian Athletics Championships. The venue—Jakarta, Indonesia. The mission—domination. Of a possible six gold medals, Usha won five. And, a bronze. It was, and still is, one of the most dominant performances by any track athlete at a single international meet. And, perhaps, one that doesn’t get talked about as often as it should.

As Usha returns to the same city in a few weeks, this time as a coach at the Asian Games, THE WEEK travelled to her athletics school in Kinalur, about an hour from Kozhikode, to talk about the Jakarta conquest.

We reached the Usha School of Athletics at about 7am. The setting was breathtaking and the contrast striking. The thick mist, wild and untamed, rolled down towards Usha’s rule-bound and rigid realm. On the phone, she had told me about the morning practice, and we, photo hungry, wanted to be there as early as possible.