Former sprint queen P.T. Usha called ‘Payyoli Express’ by her fans has raised 20 lakhs through crowd funding to train budding girl sprinters and runners at her school. She hopes to turn them into contenders for the Asiad and Olympics.She started her school in Kozhikode in 2002 to train young athletes and she offers free food, shelter and training.
The school was run all these years by government grants and the help of individual and institutional donors. She is currently training 16 students and it takes about 3-6 lakhs per year to train an athlete. A typical day for the girls start at 5.30 a.m and goes on till about 9.30 a.m. after which the girls attend regular school or college and are back at 4.30 p.m. to continue their practice. Usha is hopeful of churning out many more winners and said that India does not lack talent but basic modern and scientific facilities and that with the right training, Olympic medals are achievable.
