KASARGOD: The Central University of Kerala (CUK) vice-chancellor professor H Venkateshwarlu awarded the first honorary doctorate to Olympian P T Usha in a function held at Sabarmati hall of CUK, Periya campus, on Monday.
While receiving the honour, Usha recollected her memories in connection with the lost bronze medal at Los Angeles Olympics in 1984, in an emotion-packed speech.
“I had lost an Olympic medal in athletics, which would have been the first for my country, by a whisker. Now, I have been engaged in a fight to regain the medal which I had lost many years ago, for my country”, she said.
“I am not alone in this fight as I get the support of lakhs of people of this country. The strength of their prayers gives me the energy to work towards my goal. I am quite confident that my efforts will succeed. If we work hard to achieve a target, it would become a reality,” she said.
Usha explained the efforts she has been taking at Usha School of Athletics in connection with identifying and nurturing future talents in athletics.
“P T Usha is the pride of our nation. It is the responsibility of the university to honour people who have contributed to make the country proud”, said V-C Prof Venkateshwarlu.