Stephie D’Souza

Stephie D Souza was an famous sportsperson who has represented India in athletics and women`s hockey. The Indian team that won the gold in the 4x100m relay in the 1954 Asian Games, Stephie D Souza was included as the part of Indian team. In the year 1958, she won a bronze. She also won silver in the 200m. This winning created an Asian record in the semifinal. In the latter contention, she finished fourth in the 100m. She held the national records in 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m at one point.

Early Life of Stephie D`souza
Stephanie "Stephie D Souza, inheritablely Sequeira, was born on 26th December in the year 1936. At the Sardar Dastur Girls School at Pune, Stephie did her schooling. Later she shifted to the Fergusson College to do her graduation. She was an employee of the Central Railways (Pune Division). After her marriage, she was shifted to Jamshedpur.

Career Of Stephie D`Souza
In the 1958 Commonwealth Games, Stephie D`Souza took part in the 100 yards and 220 yards sprints. In the first international women`s hockey tournament held at London in the year 1953, she represented India. Under her captaincy the Indian hockey Team participated in the year 1961. As the captain of the Indian hockey team, Stephie toured Japan and England twice and also had a chance to play in Germany, Holland, Iran and Philippines as a member of the squad.

Thus acknowledging the talent of Stephie D Souza, Indian Government conferred the highly prestigious sports award in India, the Arjuna Award after her silver from the tournament of 1958 Commonwealth Games in the year 1964. She was conferred the award after six years of her victory at the Commonwealth Games. She was the first woman to win the Arjuna Award.

In her heydays, Stephie D Souza was one of India`s dazzlingly skilled athletes who had to her credit national records in 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m. Stephie D`Souza holds the honor to be the only women athlete to be selected for the 1964 Olympics at Tokyo. But she was eradicated in the first round of the 400 m after she finished sixth. In her later days, she was also designated to the most important sports body in the country -- All India Council of Sports, which included personalities like Mansoor Ali Khan (Nawab of Pataudi), Dhyan Chand and Ramanthan Krishnan.

She died on 11th September in the year 1998, at the age of 61, in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand.