Olympic-bound middle-distance runner Tintu Luka won a silver medal in the 800m event at the Josef Odlozil Memorial meet in Prague, Czech Republic on Monday. The reigning 800m Asian champion clocked her season's best timing of 2:00.61 to finish second behind Iceland's Aníta Hinriksdóttir, who produced her season's best timing of 2:00.54 for gold. UK's Alexandra Bell came in third 2:01.67. Luka's personal best in 800m is 1:59.17, from the 2010 Asian Games, where she won bronze.
The 800m is Tintu's strongest event, winning Gold in 2015 Asian Athletics Championship in Wuhan, China and a silver medal at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon. She was part of the Indian team that won Gold in the 4 X 400 m relay in Incheon. Tintu qualified for Rio after a timing of 2:00.95 and a 19t place finish at the World Championships in Beijing in 2015.
Luka is coached by P T Usha, India's most successful track and field athlete. The medal in Prague has been a strong comeback for Tintu in the run up to Rio, following a disappointing showing at the at the British Milers Club Grand Prix in England last week, where she finished fourth, with 2:02.79.