New Delhi : Rio-Olympics bound Tintu Luka grabbed the spotlight as she won the gold in women’s 800m race on an uneventful third and final day of the Federation Cup National Athletics Championships here on Saturday.
National record holder and Asian champion Luka, representing Railways, clocked a moderate 2:01.84 to defend her title and better the 18-year-old meet mark of 2:02.28 set by Jyotirmoyee Sikdar.
Gomathi Marimuthu of Tamil Nadu was a distant second with a time of 2:06.45 while Shipra Sarkar of West Bengal took the bronze in 2:06.95.
None of the athletes could qualify for the Olympics today after Sudha Singh made the lone Rio Games cut yesterday in women’s 3000m steeplechase. There was also no national record today either after two each on the first and second days of the championships.
An unfortunate incident occurred in women’s triple jump and national record holder Mayookha Johny got injured while making her first attempt. Mayookha, who was eyeing a Rio qualification mark, hurt her left ankle as she lost control and landed awkwardly on the sand pit.
She was forced to quit the competition and rushed for medical examination. Coach Bedros Bedrosian confirmed that “there was no fracture, but we are waiting for the medical expert’s advice”. On official said that she had locked her left ankle while taking the jump.
In the most anticipated event of the day, Odisha sprinter Srabani Nanda (23.39 secs) pipped state-mate Dutee Chand (23.41s) as in the last edition in Mangaluru. However, both the athletes returned slower timings than what they clocked in Friday’s heats and they will have to wait for another chance to make the Rio Olympics.
