P. T. Usha is also popularly known as:

• T. Usha (Pilavullakandi Thekkeparambil Usha), the legendary Indian sprinter and hurdler from Kerala, is popularly called "Udanpari" (flying fairy) and the "Payyoli Express", after her home village of Payyoli in Kozhikode district. She is also called the "Queen of Indian track and field".

Career highlights:

She was born on 27 June 1964 and was trained by coach O. M. Nambiar, who received the first Dronacharya Award in 1985.

At the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, she finished fourth in the 400 m hurdles, missing the bronze medal by just 1/100th of a second. She was the first Indian woman to reach an Olympic final in athletics.

At the 1986 Seoul Asian Games, she won four gold medals (200 m, 400 m, 400 m hurdles and 4x400 m relay) and one silver.

At the 1985 Asian Athletics Championships in Jakarta, she won five gold medals.

She won many medals at Asian Games and Asian Championships over her career.

Honours and later roles:

• Arjuna Award (1983) and Padma Shri (1985).
• She runs the Usha School of Athletics in Kerala to train young athletes.
• In 2022, she was nominated to the Rajya Sabha.
• In December 2022, she became the first woman President of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).

Other nicknames of Indian athletes:

• Milkha Singh: "The Flying Sikh", a name given to him in Pakistan in 1960.
• Hima Das: "Dhing Express", after her village Dhing in Assam.
• Mary Kom: "Magnificent Mary".
• Irom Sharmila (an activist, not an athlete): "Iron Lady of Manipur".

Why not the other options?

• ✗"Flying Sikh" is Milkha Singh.
• ✗"Dhing Express" is Hima Das.
• ✗"Iron Lady of Manipur" is Irom Sharmila, a civil rights activist.