Tintu Luka (born 26 April 1989) is an Indian

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athlete, who predominantly competes in the

middle-distance running Middle-distance running events are Track and field#Running, track races longer than Sprint (running), sprints, up to 3000 metres. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be clas ...

events. Born in Valathode,

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

, she is the national record holder in the women's

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...

. Luka represented India at the

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

and

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

. 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 The Asian Athletics Championships is an event organized by the Asian Athletics Association. History The competition courted controversy with the IAAF when political in-fighting arose after Israel was excluded from participation in 1977. That e ...

. Luka also competes in

sprinting Sprinting is running over a short distance at the top-most speed of the body in a limited period of time. It is used in many sports that incorporate running, typically as a way of quickly reaching a target or goal, or avoiding or catching an op ...

events including

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics (sport), athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor runn ...

and the

4 × 400 metres relay The 4 × 400 metres relay or long relay is an athletics track event in which teams consist of four runners who each complete 400 metres or one lap. It is traditionally the final event of a track meet. At top class events, th ...

, and was a part of the gold medal winning relay team at the

2013 Asian Athletics Championships The 2013 Asian Athletics Championships were the 20th edition of the biennial athletics competition between Asian nations. It was held at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Balewadi, Pune, India between 3–7 July. Around 522 athletes f ...

and the

2014 Asian Games The 2014 Asian Games ( ko, 2014년 아시아 경기대회/2014년 아시안 게임, Icheon sip-sa nyeon Asia gyeonggi daehoe/Icheon sip-sa nyeon Asian Geim), officially known as the 17th Asian Games ( ko, 제17회 아시아 경기대회/제17회 ...

. She is mentored by Indian Olympian P. T. Usha, and trains at the Usha School of Athletics,

Koyilandy A Survey of Kerala History, A. Shreedhara Menon ar, Fundriya pt, Pandarani , settlement_type = MunicipalityTaluk , image_skyline = KadaloorPointLight 01.jpg , image_alt = , image_caption ...

, 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,

, 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. In 2001, Luka joined the PT Usha School of Athletics at

, and started training under the guidance of her coach P T Usha. In 2008, she bagged her first international medal in form of a silver at the Junior Asian Athletics Championships.

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 Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

. At

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, f ...

Luka finished in sixth place in the women's 800m with a timing of 2:01.25s.

PT Usha Pilavullakandi Thekkeraparambil Usha (born 27 June 1964) is a retired Indian track and field athlete. She was born in Kuthali, Kozhikode, Kerala. She has been associated with Indian athletics since 1979. She has won 4 Asian gold medals and 7 S ...

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 The 2010 Asian Games (), officially known as the XVI Asian Games () and also known as Guangzhou 2010 (), was a regional multi-sport event celebrated from November 12 to November 27, 2010 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, although several events ...

. Tintu, who had a disappointing finish in the

, 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. In the Continental Cup, Croatia, 2010, Luka timed 1:59.17, to break

Shiny Wilson Shiny Kurisingal Wilson ( nee Abraham, born 8 May 1965) is a retired Indian athlete. She has been a National Champion in 800 metres for 14 years. Shiny Abraham Wilson (Shiny Abraham) represented India more than 75 times in international co ...

’s 15-year-old national record of 1:59.85 in the 800m event. In the second of the three semi-finals for

event at the London

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, Luka finished sixth in her heat clocking an 1:59.69 seconds her seasons best, but could not qualify for the finals. For her performance at the Summer Olympics, the Government of Kerela awarded her and will provide her with a job in a gazetted rank. On 1 October 2014 Luka won the Silver Medal in the 800m at the Asian Games held at

Incheon Incheon (; ; or Inch'ŏn; literally "kind river"), formerly Jemulpo or Chemulp'o (제물포) until the period after 1910, officially the Incheon Metropolitan City (인천광역시, 仁川廣域市), is a city located in northwestern South Kore ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. She was also the part of the team that won the Gold Medal in the 4 X 400 m relay at the

. 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 The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjuna, one ...

- 2014

Competition record

References

External links

*
Tintu — a rare gem (The Hindu)Tintu Luka (USHA)DD India report on Tintu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lukka, Tintu Living people 1989 births Sportswomen from Kerala People from Kannur district Indian female sprinters Indian female middle-distance runners 21st-century Indian women 21st-century Indian people Olympic athletes of India Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games competitors for India Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Asian Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Asian Games World Athletics Championships athletes for India Recipients of the Arjuna Award Asian Games gold medalists for India Asian Games silver medalists for India Asian Games bronze medalists for India Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games