The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur will confer a doctorate on former sprint queen PT Usha, who missed a medal by a whisker at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
The degree, Doctor of Science (honoris causa - a degree awarded as a mark of esteem) will be conferred on June 16 to mark the 50th convocation of the prestigious institute of the country.
This is her second doctorate - in 2002, Kannur University had conferred D.Lit on her.
For the former sprinter, the news came at an opportune time when the Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to inaugurate her synthetic track stadium through video conferencing on June 15.
Usha (52) was in news recently when she declined an offer from Bollywood to do a biopic on her. She said she will not do this until the country wins a gold medal in Olympics athletics.
Running a private sports school, Usha School of Athletics near Kozhikkode, she is busy training young athletes eyeing 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The newly-built synthetic track will be a big push. It will help budding athletes for international events.
Grooming youngsters for more than two decades, her school has produced some of the best women athletes of the country, including Tintu Luka, Jisna Mathew and Jessy Joseph.
