Luka, Rani on ‘Track’
Middle distance runner Tintu Luka and javelin thrower Annu Rani continued India’s medal hunt in the track and field events with a silver and bronze winning performances.
Tintu grabbed the silver in 800m women final after leading the pack for almost 700 metres, while Rani came up with a personal best throw of 59.53 metres to clinch the bronze in javelin throw. With these two medals, India has taken their tally in the track and field events to one gold, three silver and seven bronze.
A lot was expected from Tintu in the 800m and it looked like the 25-year-old would be able to pull off a win when she reached the final stretch about a metre and a half ahead of eventual champion Margarita Mukasheva of Kazakhstan.
Though Tintu expressed satisfaction over her performance, it was clear that the youngster had made a mistake in setting a pretty fast pace in the first lap.
Even her coach PT Usha admitted that Tintu was a few seconds faster than the pace they had decided for the first 600 metres and lacked the strength to finish it at the same speed.
However, the former Asian Games gold medallist defended the race strategy saying Tintu’s forte was speed while the other runners depended more on endurance.
In the javelin throw, Rani came up with her best effort in the very first attempt and led the field till the fourth throw when the Chinese duo of Zhang Li and Li Lingwei crossed the 60 metres mark to clinch the gold and silver medal respectively.
There was disappointment in store for last edition gold medallist Ashwini Akkunji in the 400m hurdles as she finished fourth with a time of 57.52 seconds.
In the men’s 800m, India’s Sajeesh Joseph could not finish on the podium despite all the top three finishers getting disqualified. Qatar’s Musaab Bala was disqualified for obstructing other runners, while Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Abdulaziz and Bahrain’s Abraham Rotich were disqualified for cutting the lane early.
Tintu grabbed the silver in 800m women final after leading the pack for almost 700 metres, while Rani came up with a personal best throw of 59.53 metres to clinch the bronze in javelin throw. With these two medals, India has taken their tally in the track and field events to one gold, three silver and seven bronze.
A lot was expected from Tintu in the 800m and it looked like the 25-year-old would be able to pull off a win when she reached the final stretch about a metre and a half ahead of eventual champion Margarita Mukasheva of Kazakhstan.
However, just like many of her earlier races, Tintu lost steam in the last 50 metres and Mukasheva easily beat her to the finish line. Mukasheva stopped the clock at 1:59.02 sec for a new Games record, while Tintu registered a season best time of 1:59.19.
Though Tintu expressed satisfaction over her performance, it was clear that the youngster had made a mistake in setting a pretty fast pace in the first lap.
Even her coach PT Usha admitted that Tintu was a few seconds faster than the pace they had decided for the first 600 metres and lacked the strength to finish it at the same speed.
However, the former Asian Games gold medallist defended the race strategy saying Tintu’s forte was speed while the other runners depended more on endurance.
In the javelin throw, Rani came up with her best effort in the very first attempt and led the field till the fourth throw when the Chinese duo of Zhang Li and Li Lingwei crossed the 60 metres mark to clinch the gold and silver medal respectively.
There was disappointment in store for last edition gold medallist Ashwini Akkunji in the 400m hurdles as she finished fourth with a time of 57.52 seconds.
In the men’s 800m, India’s Sajeesh Joseph could not finish on the podium despite all the top three finishers getting disqualified. Qatar’s Musaab Bala was disqualified for obstructing other runners, while Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Abdulaziz and Bahrain’s Abraham Rotich were disqualified for cutting the lane early.
