BCCI did right, you have to prove yourself first: Usha

“This will only intensify the competition in other sports,” she told PTI here.

Usha, who earned Rs 2 lakh in cash and a house when she won the Asian Gold in 1985, said “there were days when athletics alone used to bring laurels to the country and athletes including me were given top attention.

“Even though it was a Twenty20 championship, all leading cricket-playing nations participated and a poorly-rated India emerged winners,” she said, adding it was up to Indian Hockey Federation and respective state governments to decide on rewarding the hockey players.

“No sportsperson, Association or Government can question the decision of the BCCI,” Usha said.

“In fact, the BCCI should be complimented for raising huge funds in recent years in a systematic manner,” Usha said. “BCCI is an independent body and the funds it has managed now has not come overnight. It is upto the BCCI officials to declare any amount of reward to recognise the team’s performance and no one has the right to question their decisions,” she said.

“When I was winning five to six medals regularly at the international level during the 80s, cricket was not enjoying so much passion and the entire media used to highlight athletics and glorify athletes like me, Shiny and Ashwini Nachappa,” Usha said.

“Even advertisements were pouring on us and leading cricketers were left with sharing ads with us. But times have since changed and cricket has come to take centre-stage ever since the Kapil Dev-led team won the 1983 World Cup.”

Usha refused to comment on the proposed hunger strike by hockey players.