Calcutta, July 25 :     One school of thought feels this announcement (of P. T. Usha's retirement) has come three-four years too late. The other school is not so sure: they talk about the 1998 Fukuoka Asian Track and Field performance of the 'Pyoli Express' - a gold and a silver (relays) - to prove there is much left to her yet. Whatever the logic, there are only that many years of active life in a top class athlete. The wane is a natural phenomenon. Surely, 36-year-old athletes are not uncommon in world athletics (Sandra Farmer-Patrick, who came back successfully at a late age, and after childbirth, is a case in point), but these are exceptions that prove the rule. Late in 1998, in Calcutta for the Open nationals, she was still bubbly with confidence, off her Fukuoka experience. But she was practical too. Asked what kept her going, she said her 'dreams'. 'Athletes these days have rather small dreams,' she said. 'They want to be state champions, be national champion, just be a part of the contingent at international meets. You score big only when your dreams are as big. I used to dream of Olympic medals, even a gold medal.' She came close enough in Los Angeles, but unlike Milkha Singh, she did not want to rest on that lone achievement. She has never been willing to accept that she can lose. When sprinter Rachita Mistry commented sarcastically on the generation and class difference, Usha had simply reminded her young rival what class is really made of. Mistry has, so far, managed a silver at the Asian level. The two athletes from Kerala who really blazed the tracks in the early Eighties were Usha and M.D. Valasamma. The latter was a middle-distance specialist and Usha managed to take total control of the 100m, the 200m, the 400m flat and the 400m hurdles. The hurdles, especially. Her steps in between were measured and the bends were easily taken in the quarter mile. The day she faltered in the stepping in between the hurdles, she dipped. That was probably a psychological stammer. She came down to the flats. There, too, she was unbeatable. When Shiny Wilson (nee Abraham) was ruling the middle distances in Asia, Usha kept to the sprints. In 1995 at the Chennai SAF Games, Shiny went through the 52 second barrier (never repeated) and they said she will be remembered the most. Usha prodded along, still. But late in 1998 she was surely out of the league. In November of that year she was finally named in the Indian contingent to the Bangkok Asian Games. That, though, was no merit selection. The US can afford to keep back their Jackie Joyner Kersees when they fail to meet required standards (she will not be going to Sydney), but in India emotions rule. It was only expected that she would only be a passenger on that trip. She should not have been hurt when she was not even considered for the 1600m relay. She was in tears as she watched the team finish second from the sidelines. For the first time in her career she returned home without a medal in five Asian Games since 1982. There were more early indications. In this city that November (in 1998), on the concluding day of the 38th inter-state athletics meet, Usha collapsed on a cramped hamstring, with 20m to go, leading way ahead in the 200m sprint. That was in addition to an existing pain from a sowllen left heel. The writing on the wall was clear. That was the day to remember, a day to seal in such an announcement as today. Icons, though never fade. Retired, or otherwise.