Tintu Luka wins gold, qualifies for Worlds

Wuhan (China): India's Tintu Luka won the gold medal in the women's 800 metres, while the country got four more medals on the concluding day of the Asian Athletics Championships at the Wuhan Sports Center here on Sunday. India finished third in the event with 13 medals (4 gold, 5 silver and 4 bronze).

Tintu, who had won the bronze medal in the 2013 edition of the competition, completed the race in 2:01.53 minutes to finish ahead of second placed China's Zhao Jing who did it in 2:03.40 minutes. Sri Lankan Nimali Liyanarachchi came third in 2:03.94 minutes.

As the continental champion, Tintu, a protege of legendary sprinter P.T. Usha, secured a place in the World Championships 2015. However, she is yet to qualify for the next year's Olympics that has a qualifying mark of 2:1:00 minutes.

Among other medal winners on Sunday, Johnson Jinson clinched the silver medal as he completed the men's 800 metres race in 1:49.69 minutes. Qatar's Musaab Bala claimed the title in 1:49.40 minutes, while Sho Kawamoto of Japan took the third spot in 1:50.50 minutes.

Dharambir Singh and Srabani Nanda won the bronze medals in the in men's and women's 200 metres, respectively. Dharambir, who completed the race in 20.66 seconds, also broke the national record of 20.73 seconds set by Anil Kumar in 2000.

Dharambir finished 00.34 seconds slower than champion Femi Ogunode of Qatar. F. Alsubaie of Kazakhstan took the second spot in 20.63 seconds.

Srabani finished her race in 23.54 seconds. While Viktoriya Zyabkina of Kazakhstan took the gold medal in 23.09 seconds, the silver medal went to her compatriot Olga Safronova, who finished the race in 23.46 seconds.

However, India failed to defend its title in the women's 4x400 metres relay as they finished second with an effort of 3:33.81 minutes. China won the title in 3:33.44 minutes while Kazakhstan took the bronze medal in 3:35.14 minutes.

In the overall medal standings, China finished on top with 41 medals (15 gold, 13 silver and 13 bronze), while Qatar came second with 10 medals (7 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze). India finished third, while Japan and Bahrain came fourth and fifth, respectively.