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Stephie D'Souza

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Stephie D'Souza
Personal information
Birth nameStephanie Sequeira
Full nameStephanie D'Souza
NicknameFlying Rani[1]
NationalityIndian
Born26 December 1936
Goa, Portuguese India
Died11 September 1998(1998-09-11) (aged 61)
Jamshedpur, India
Alma materSardar Dastur Girls School
Fergusson College
EmployerIndian Railways
Height5 ft 2 in (157 cm)
Weight110 lb (50 kg)
Sport
SportTrack and field
EventSprint
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  India
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 1954 Manila 4×100 m relay
Silver medal – second place 1958 Tokyo 200 m
Bronze medal – third place 1958 Tokyo 4×100 m relay

Stephanie "Stephie" D'Souza, nee Sequeira (26 December 1936 – 11 September 1998) was an Indian sportsperson who represented India in athletics and women's hockey.

Early life

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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.[2]

D'Souza was part of the Indian team that won the gold in the 4 × 100 m relay in the 1954 Asian Games (with Violet Peters, Christine Brown and Mary D'Souza) and a bronze in 1958. 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 in 1956.[3]

She was eliminated in the first round of the 400 m in the 1964 Summer Olympics 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. D'Souza represented India in the first international women's hockey tournament in London in 1953 and captained the side in 1961.

Stephie D'Souza won the Arjuna Award presented by the Government of India. She died in Jamshedpur (Jharkhand) at the age of 61.

National and international competitions[4]

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Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
1954 Asian Games Manila 1st 4x100 metres 49.5
1954 Asian Games Manila 4th 200 metres
1957 National championship 1st 100 metres
1st 200 metres
1958 Asian Games Tokyo 2nd 200 metres 26.2
3rd 400 metres relay 49.4
1958 Commonwealth Games Cardiff Eliminated in heats 100 metres and 200 metres

See also

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Bibliography

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  • K.R. Wadhwaney, Arjuna Awardees, Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, 2002, ISBN 81-230-0286-0

References

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  1. ^ "Ground zero: Sorry, ma'am. Hockey is dead, you live". 4 March 2010.
  2. ^ "Stephie D'Souza - Sports Bharti | sportsbharti.comSports Bharti | sportsbharti.com". www.sportsbharti.com. Archived from the original on 31 July 2017.
  3. ^ Indian Express, December 24, 1956
  4. ^ "Stephie D'Souza - Sports Bharti | sportsbharti.comSports Bharti | sportsbharti.com". www.sportsbharti.com. Archived from the original on 31 July 2017.