Sometimes, a silver medal can also be a silver lining of hope for a golden future. Tintu Luka prefers to see the silver she won in the women’s 800m at the Incheon Asian Games a few days ago in such light.
“I would have loved to win the gold, but the time I clocked (1:59.19) and the way I ran the race have made me more confident as I prepare for my next major event, the world championship (in Beijing next March),” Tintu told The Hindu here on Tuesday, shortly after arriving from Incheon.
“If I had judged my first lap better, I could have won the gold. Still, this was easily the best race I have run since the London Olympics in 2012.”
It was also one of the toughest races in her career. “All three medallists ran under two minutes, something that has not happened before in the Asian Games,” she said.
“I was determined to finish strongly, though I was tiring as I approached the finishing line.”
Tintu said she had worked a lot with coach P.T. Usha prior to the Asian Games. “Her inputs helped me a lot for my race in Incheon,” she said.
“I think my performance proved that there is nothing wrong with the training methods at the Usha School of Athletics.”
Tintu said being part of the gold-medal winning 4x400m relay team was a dream come true. “I had dreamt of going up the podium to receive an Asian Games gold,” she said. “And it felt great that I could contribute crucially in our victory.”
It was Tintu’s terrific run in the second leg that paved the way for what was India’s fourth gold in a row in the longer relay; when she received the baton from Priyanka Pawar, India was fourth, but when she passed it on to Mandeep Kaur, the team had taken the lead.
“It was a superb effort by Tintu,” a proud Usha said.
The coach is also impressed with her time in the 800m. “I wanted her to record a sub-two and I am glad she did,” Usha said. “And it was good to see her showing a lot of fighting spirit, as she closed in on the gold-medallist Margarita Matsko, who was timing her finish neatly.”
Usha said the race would do a world of good to Tintu’s confidence. “Her time is the 13th best in the world this year, and she is certainly capable of running quicker,” she said. “But she still has to make some tactical adjustments, and we are going to work on that.”
