Stephanie "Stephie" D'Souza, ''nee'' Sequeira (26 December 1936 – 11 September 1998) was an Indian sportsperson who represented

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competiti ...

and women's hockey.

Early life

Stephanie "Stephie" D Souza, inheritably Sequeira, was born on 26 December 1936. She studied at the Sardar Dastur Girls School at Pune, and later shifted to the Fergusson College to do her graduation. She worked with Central Railways (Pune Division). After her marriage, she shifted to Jamshedpur. D'Souza was part of the Indian team that won the gold in the 4 × 100 m relay in the

1954 Asian Games The 1954 Asian Games ( fil, Palarong Asyano 1954), officially known as the Second Asian Games – Manila 1954 was a multi-sport event held in Manila, Philippines, from May 1 to 9, 1954. A total of 970 athletes from 19 Asian National Olympic Commi ...

(with Violet Peters,

Christine Brown Christine Brown (born September 1938) is an Indian track-and-field athlete. She won a gold medal in 4×100m relay (with Stephie d'Souza, Violet Peters and Mary d'Souza) and bronze in the 100 metres in the 1954 Asian Games. This was the first ...

and Mary D'Souza) and a bronze in

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

. She won a silver in the 200 m, creating an Asian record in the semifinal, and finished fourth in the 100 m in the latter competition. At one point, she held the national records in 100 m, 200 m, 400 m and 800 m. She was the first Indian woman to complete 100m in 12 seconds, beating the previous record of 12.1 by Mary D'Souza, at

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

in 1956. She was eliminated in the first round of the 400 m in the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this ho ...

after finishing sixth despite setting a national record of 58.0 seconds. She took part in the 100 yards and 220 yards sprints in the

1958 Commonwealth Games The 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games (Welsh: Gemau Ymerodraeth Prydain a'r Gymanwlad 1958) were held in Cardiff, Wales, from 18–26 July 1958. Thirty-five nations sent a total of 1,130 athletes and 228 officials to the Cardiff Games ...

. D'Souza represented India in the first international women's hockey tournament in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1953 and captained the side in 1961. Stephie D'Souza won the

Arjuna Award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjuna, one ...

presented by the Government of India. She died in

Jamshedpur Jamshedpur (, ) or Tatanagar is the largest and most populous city in Jharkhand and the first planned industrial city in India. It is a Notified Area Council and Municipal Corporation and also the headquarter of the East Singhbhum district. It ...

(Jharkhand) at the age of 61.

National and international competitions

Bibliography

* K.R. Wadhwaney, ''Arjuna Awardees'', Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, 2002,

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:D'Souza, Stephie 1936 births 1998 deaths Indian female sprinters Field hockey players from Goa Athletes from Goa Sportswomen from Goa Indian Roman Catholics Olympic athletes for India Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics Recipients of the Arjuna Award Asian Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1954 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1958 Asian Games Commonwealth Games competitors for India Athletes (track and field) at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Asian Games gold medalists for India Asian Games silver medalists for India Asian Games bronze medalists for India Medalists at the 1954 Asian Games Medalists at the 1958 Asian Games Olympic female sprinters

Early life

National and international competitions

See also

Bibliography

References