Thiruvananthapuram : Asian Games medallist Tintu Luka ruled the track on the final day of competitions as she smashed an 18-year-old meet record to win 800m gold before inspiring Kerala to 4x400m top spot in the 35th National Games, with Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) notching up a hat-trick of overall titles by finishing atop medals table.
SSCB led the tally on account of a higher number of gold medals and emerged as the overall champions for the third time in a row. The team ended with 158 medals (91 gold, 32 silver and 35 bronze), followed by hosts Kerala, who rode on a strong athletics performance to total 161 (54 gold, 46 silver and 61 bronze) and Haryana (39 gold, 40 silver and 27 bronze).
On the final day of competitions, vociferous home supporters filled the athletics ground and Tintu’s star turn made their day.
Protege of the legendary P T Usha and an outright favourite before the 800m race, Tintu lived upto the top billing as she freezed the clock at 2:01.86sec to win the gold and better the 2:03:08sec mark created by K C Rosa Kutty way back in 1997. —PTI
