10 things you need to know about Tintu Luka

Tintu Luka

1) Tintu Luka was born on 26^th April, 1989 in a small village, Valathode, in Kannur district, Kerala. Born to parents, Lukka and Lissy, she also has a sister – Angel Luka. Her mother was a state-level long jump athlete.

2) She did her schooling from St. Thomas HS Karikkottakary and is enrolled at the Usha school of Athletics under the guidance of her coach, the legendary, PT Usha. As a child, Tintu used to walk 5km every day on a hilly path to reach her school

3) Her coach, PT Usha, who had narrowly missed out on an Olympic medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, claimed that Tintu will bring India its first Olympic medal in Athletics.

4) She shot to fame when she won the Silver medal in the 800m race at the 2008 Asian Junior Athletics Championship in Jakarta.

5) In 2010, she broke Shiny Wilson’s 15-year-old national record in women’s 800m at the Continental Cup in Croatia when she timed 1:59:17; A record which is yet to be broken.

6) She won the bronze medal at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China and followed that up with another bronze at the Asian Championships in Japan the next year.

7) When the Asian Championships were held in Pune, India in 2013, Tintu, buoyed by the supporting home crowd, finished 3^rd in the 800m and won the Gold medal in the 4x400m relay event.

8) Following in the footsteps of her coach, Tintu Luka was conferred with the Arjuna Award for Athletics on 29^th August, 2014.

9) In the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, Tintu Luka sealed the silver medal in 800m and helped her team set the Games Record en route to winning the Gold.

10) On 7^th June, 2015, She won the Gold medal at the 21^st Asian Athletics Championship held at Wuhan, China.