Shiny Kurisingal Wilson (
nee Abraham, born 8 May 1965) is a retired Indian athlete. She has been a National Champion in 800 metres for 14 years.
Shiny Abraham Wilson (Shiny Abraham) represented India more than 75 times in international competition. She holds the added distinction of representing Asia in four World Cups. She is also perhaps the only athlete to have taken part in six Asian Track & Field Meets in a row beginning 1985 in Jakarta.
During this period she won seven gold, five silver and two bronze medals in the Asian competitions. She collected a total of 18 gold and two silver medals from the seven South Asian Federation (SAF) Meets she has competed.
Early life
Born at Thodupuzha in
Idukki district of
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
on 8 May 1965, Shiny became interested in athletics as a child but developed her skills after joining the sports division in
Kottayam
Kottayam () is a municipal town in the Indian state of Kerala. Flanked by the Western Ghats on the east and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west. It is the district headquarters of Kottayam district, located in south- ...
.
In fact Shiny,
PT Usha
Pilavullakandi Thekkeraparambil Usha (born 27 June 1964) is a retired Indian track and field athlete. She was born in Kuthali, Kozhikode, Kerala. She has been associated with Indian athletics since 1979. She has won 4 Asian gold medals and 7 S ...
and
M D Valsamma
Manathoor Devasia Valsamma (born 21 October 1960) is a retired Indian athlete. She was the second Indian woman to win an individual gold medal at the Asian Games and the first to win it on Indian soil.
Early life
Valsamma was born on 21 Oct ...
studied at the same sports division in various parts of Kerala and as they grew up, they were coached by the NIS coach P. J Devasia.
Shiny was then trained at G.V. Raja Sports School in Trivandrum before she moved to
Alphonsa College in Palai.
She is currently the Indian team selector and government nominee for selection committee board.
Career
Shiny Abraham's athletics career ran alongside that of
PT Usha
Pilavullakandi Thekkeraparambil Usha (born 27 June 1964) is a retired Indian track and field athlete. She was born in Kuthali, Kozhikode, Kerala. She has been associated with Indian athletics since 1979. She has won 4 Asian gold medals and 7 S ...
from the time the two of them represented the country in the
Asian Games in New Delhi in 1982. Shiny became national champion in the 800 metres a year before the Asian Games in Delhi.
She cut into the inner lane and was disqualified while very much in front of the field during the
1986 Asian Games
The 1986 Asian Games ( ko, 1986ë…„ 아시아 경기대회/1986ë…„ 아시안 게임, Cheon gubaek palsip-yuk nyeon Asia gyeonggi daehoe/Cheon gubaek palsip-yuk nyeon Asian Geim), officially known as the 10th Asian Games and the X Asiad ( ko, ì œ10í ...
in
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...
. At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, she became the first woman to be the flag bearer for India at the Olympics.
Her most memorable competition was the Asian Track & Field Meet at
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...
in 1989, despite being in the family way, she ran the 800;meters to come second behind Sun Sumei of China but Shiny was declared the winner as Sumei tested positive for doping.
One of her greatest achievements was that she was running even faster after the birth of her child and she set a new record of 1:59.85 in the 800m race at the 1995 South Asian Federation (SAF) Games in Chennai.
Shiny married swimmer Wilson Cherian in December 1988.
Shiny was awarded the Arjuna Award in 1985, Birla Award in 1996 and Padma Shri in 1998. she is also the recipient of Chinese Journalists Award 1991 for being one of the Top Ten Athletes of Asia.
Participation
Shiny Abraham has participated in four
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...
:
Los Angeles (1984),
Seoul (1988),
Barcelona (1992) and
Atlanta(1996).
Although she didn't win any medals at any of the four Olympics, she and
P.T. Usha
Pilavullakandi Thekkeraparambil Usha (born 27 June 1964) is a retired Indian track and field athlete. She was born in Kuthali, Kozhikode, Kerala. She has been associated with Indian athletics since 1979. She has won 4 Asian gold medals and ...
powered India to an unexpected Women's 4X400 relay final at the 1984 Games.
She was also the captain of the Indian Contingent at the 1992 Games.
She has also represented India in three
Asian Games and has won a Gold, 2 Silvers and a Bronze.
In the Asian Track and Field meets, she has won 7 Gold Medals, 6 Silver Medals and 2 Bronze Medals.
Represented India for more than 75 Times .
First Indian Women athlete to reach the semi-finals in Olympics in women's 800m
First Indian woman captain and flag bearer for Indian Contingent for 1996 Atlanta Olympics
Awards
* She received the
Arjuna award in 1984
* She received
Chinese journalist award 1991 From
Chinese Government
The Government of the People's Republic of China () is an authoritarian political system in the People's Republic of China under the exclusive political leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It consists of legislative, executive, m ...
For her Outstanding Achievement in Sports
* She was conferred
Padma Shri
Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...
, India's fourth highest civilian award in 1998.
* She was honoured with
Birla Birla may refer to:
* Birla family
* Members of the Birla family:
** Aditya Vikram Birla
** Ananya Birla
** Basant Kumar Birla
** G. D. Birla
** K. K. Birla
** C. K. Birla
** Kumar Mangalam Birla
See also
* Burla (disambiguation)
{{surname
Bir ...
Award in 1998.
* In 2002, she Was Honoured by the
UNICEF
UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to ...
, Los Angeles and had presented a paper presentation on behalf of Asia
* In 2009, she was awarded Lifetime Achievement Award From
CNN IBN at Delhi
* In 2012, she was Awarded Lifetime Achievement Award From
JFW Achievers Award in Chennai
* In 2012, she was awarded Lifetime Achievement Award From Sun Networks for Women Achievers for the Field of Sports
See also
*
List of Indian women athletes
This List of Indian Sportswomen includes the champion sports women that India has ever produced who bought laurels to their mother land by establishing records & winning titles on international stage.
* Anjali Bhagwat, Shooting - Conferred wi ...
*
List of Kerala Olympians
*
List of Indian records in athletics
The following are the national records in athletics in India. Some of the records are maintained by Athletics Federation of India (AFI). Outdoor times for track races between 200 meters to 10,000 meters are set on 400-meter unbanked tracks. Indoor ...
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abraham, Shiny
1965 births
Living people
Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Olympic athletes of India
Sportswomen from Kerala
Recipients of the Arjuna Award
Recipients of the Padma Shri in sports
Indian female sprinters
Indian female middle-distance runners
20th-century Indian women
20th-century Indian people
People from Idukki district
Asian Games medalists in athletics (track and field)
Athletes (track and field) at the 1982 Asian Games
Athletes (track and field) at the 1986 Asian Games
Athletes (track and field) at the 1994 Asian Games
Asian Games gold medalists for India
Asian Games silver medalists for India
Asian Games bronze medalists for India
Medalists at the 1986 Asian Games
Medalists at the 1994 Asian Games
Olympic female sprinters