Tintu Luka

Tintu Luka (born 26 April 1989) is an Indian track and field athlete, who predominantly competes in the middle-distance running events. Born in Valathode, Kerala, she is the national record holder in the women's 800 metres. Luka represented India at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics. In addition to being the 2015 Asian Champion in the 800 meters, she has won a total of six medals at the Asian Athletics Championships.

Tintu Luka

Personal information
Nationality	Indian
Born	(1989-04-26) 26 April 1989 (age 35) Karikkottakary, Iritty, Kerala, India
Sport
Country	India
Sport	Running
Event	800 metres
Medal record Women's athletics Representing  India Asian Games 2014 Incheon 4 x 400 m relay 2014 Incheon 800 m 2010 Guangzhou 800 m Asian Championships 2013 Pune 4x400 m relay 2015 Wuhan 800 m 2011 Kobe 4x400 m relay 2015 Wuhan 4x400 m relay 2011 Kobe 800 m 2013 Pune 800 m Asian Junior Athletics Championships 2008 Jakarta 800m 2008 Jakarta 4×400m relay National Games 2015 Kerala 800m 2015 Kerala 4×400m relay

Luka also competes in sprinting events including 400 metres and the 4 × 400 metres relay, and was a part of the gold medal-winning relay team at the 2013 Asian Athletics Championships and the 2014 Asian Games. She is mentored by Indian Olympian P. T. Usha, and trains at the Usha School of Athletics, Koyilandy, Kerala. She was awarded Arjuna award, the country's second-highest sporting honour by Government of India in 2014.

Early life and junior career

Tintu Luka was born in the small village of Valathode near Karikkottakary in Kannur district, Kerala, India. Her parents are Lukka and Lissy, a state-level long jumper. She has a sister named Angel Lukka. Luka did her schooling from St. Thomas High School, Karikkottakary.^[1]

In 2001, Luka joined the PT Usha School of Athletics at Koyilandy, and started training under the guidance of her coach P T Usha.^[2] In 2008, she bagged her first international medal in form of a silver at the Junior Asian Athletics Championships.^[1]

Performance at international level

Lukka as 277 in 2017

In 2008, Luka won a silver medal in the 800-metre race at the Asian Junior Athletics Championship in Jakarta.^[3]

At 2010 Commonwealth Games Luka finished in sixth place in the women's 800m with a timing of 2:01.25s.^[4] PT Usha responded to this performance, saying that Tintu Luka had not been exposed to such a large crowd before and that the crowd's applause and cheering could have made her lose concentration and run faster without prior planning.

Luka won the bronze medal in the women's 800 metres event of the track and field competitions at the Asian Games 2010. Tintu, who had a disappointing finish in the 2010 Commonwealth Games, led the pack right from the start, but couldn't keep pace in the last 50 metres and finished third with a timing of 2:01.36 seconds.^[5]

In the Continental Cup, Croatia, 2010, Luka timed 1:59.17, to break Shiny Wilson's 15-year-old national record of 1:59.85 in the 800m event.^[6]

In the second of the three semi-finals for 800 metres event at the London 2012 Summer Olympics, Luka finished sixth in her heat clocking an 1:59.69 seconds her seasons best, but could not qualify for the finals.^[7][8] For her performance at the Summer Olympics, the Government of Kerala awarded her ₹200,000 (US$2,400) and will provide her with a job in a gazetted rank.^[9]

On 1 October 2014 Luka won the silver medal in the 800m at the Asian Games held at Incheon, South Korea.^[10] She was also the part of the team that won the gold medal in the 4 X 400 m relay at the 2014 Asian Games.^[11] The team clocked 3:28:68 to break the Games Record. This is India's 4th consecutive gold in the event since 2002.

Awards and recognition

Arjuna Award – 2014^[12]

Competition record

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  India
2008	Asian Junior Championships	Jakarta, Indonesia	2nd	800 m	2:08.63
	World Junior Championships	Bydgoszcz, Poland	8th (sf)	800m	2:06.51
			14th (h)	4 × 400 m relay	3:44.13
2009	Asian Championships	Guangzhou, China	6th	800 m	2:07.36
2010	Commonwealth Games	Delhi, India	6th	800 m	2:01.25
	Asian Games	Guangzhou, China	3rd	800 m	2:01.36
2011	Asian Championships	Kobe, Japan	3rd	800 m	2:02.55
			2nd	4 × 400 m relay	3:44.17
	World Championships	Daegu, South Korea	15th (sf)	800 m	2:00.95
2012	Summer Olympics	London, United Kingdom	10th (sf)	800 m	1:59.61
2013	Asian Championships	Pune, India	3rd	800 m	2:04.48
			1st	4 × 400 m relay	3:32.26
	World Championships	Moscow, Russia	15th (h)	4 × 400 m relay	3:38.81
2014	Commonwealth Games	Glasgow, United Kingdom	11th (sf)	800 m	2:03.35
	Asian Games	Incheon, South Korea	2nd	800 m	1:59.19
			1st	4 × 400 m relay	3:28.68 GR
2015	Asian Championships	Wuhan, China	1st	800 m	2:01.53
			2nd	4 × 400 m relay	3:33.81
	World Championships	Beijing, China	19th (h)	800 metres	2:00.95
			14th (h)	4 × 400 m relay	3:29.08
2016	Summer Olympics	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	29th (h)	800 m	2:00.58

References

1. "Road to Rio: Tintu Luka, India's best bet to end athletics medal wait at Olympics". The Indian Express. 22 July 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
2. "10 things you need to know about Tintu Luka". 7 June 2015.
3. "Tintu Luka to participate in Jr. world athletic championship". Thaindian News.
4. performance in CWG 2010
5. Performance in Asian games,
6. National record in 800m,
7. "London 2012 – Women's 800m : Athletics – Results". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
8. "India's Tintu Luka qualifies for 800 metres semifinals". The Times of India. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
9. kerala-government-sportspersons
10. "Tintu Luka fetches 800m silver in Asiad". DNA. DNA. 1 October 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
11. "Asian Games: India wins gold in 4x400m women's relay". 2 October 2014.
12. "Tintu Luka Profile: Women's 800m". The Indian Express. 17 August 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2016.

External links

• Tintu Lukka at World Athletics
• Tintu Lukka at Diamond League
• Tintu Lukka at Olympedia
• Tintu Lukka at the Commonwealth Games Federation (archived)
• Tintu – a rare gem (The Hindu)
• Tintu Luka (USHA)
• DD India report on Tintu