Sat, Aug 28 10 10:51 AM
New Delhi, Aug 28 (PTI) Promising Indian middle distance runner Tintu Luka ran her personal best of 2:00.79 to finish eighth in the 800m race in the final leg of the Diamond League series in Brussels, Belgium. Luka, the protege of legendary Indian athlete P T Usha, came up with a creditable performance in the race which was taken part by top international athletes late last night. The 19-year-old Kerala runner failed to run sub two minutes which her coach Usha was expecting but had the satisfaction of leading the 10-athlete filed till the 600m mark which she completed in 1:28.75. But she failed to preserve herself for the final stretch of 200m, allowing seven of her competitors ran past her to cross the finishing line. Olympic and world championships silver medallist Janeth Jepkosgei of Kenya, who is expected to be one of Luka''s opponents in the October 3-14 Coomwealth Games here, won the race in 1:58.82 while World Indoor and European champion Mariya Savinova of Russia finished second in 1:59.49. World champion South African caster Semenya, who has been named in the South Africa''s team for the Commonwealth Games, finished third with a timing of 1:59.65, her season''s best. Semenya was recently given the green signal by the IAAF to return to competitive running a year after her controversial gender test during the World Championships in Berlin in August last year. Luka had also the satisfaction of finishing ahead of Great Britain''s Jemma Simpson who finished ninth with a timing of 2:01.13. Another Briton and European championships bronze medallist, Jennifer Meadows, who had decided to skip the Commonwealth Games, finished fifth, clocking 1:59.93. Luka will next run in the VTB Continental Cup, formerly World Cup of Athletics, on Septemebr 4 in Split, Croatia. Top eight athletes, two from each of the four continental groupings -- Asia Pacific, Europe, Americas and Africa -- will take part in the top-flight event. She is the leading athlete in Asian this season. She had clocked her earlier personal best of 2:01.24 in the July 29-30 Asian All Star Athletics Meet in New Delhi, a test event of the Commonwealth Games.
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