'Cricket gets focus due to consistency'

Though many sports icons of the country were angry with only the cricket hogging the limelight and its players getting lots of money, former sprint queen P T Usha felt there were various reasons for that.

Usha said cricket has become a lucrative and attractive game because of lack of consistency in other games in the country.
"Poor performance in other sports including track and field caused people as well as sponsors to get attracted towards cricket particularly after India won the World Cup in 1983," she said.

Usha was here to assess the performance of her cadets from Kozhikode-based Usha School of Athletics at the 47th National Open Athletic Championship that concluded at the JRD Tata Sports Complex in Jamshedpur on Friday.

Though the Athletics Federation of India had improved facilities including development of infrastructure, appointment of foreign coaches and more provisions of international exposure during the past three decades, Usha said performance of athletes in the 1980s was much better compared to that of the present lot.

She said she had attracted lots of sponsorship even when cricket was gaining popularity following the 1983 World Cup.