Luka makes 800m semifinals at London Olympics

LONDON: Tintu Luka ran a thrilling race to qualify for the women's 800m semifinals after finishing third in the second heat on Wednesday.
The 23-year-old Indian finished behind reigning world champion Mariya Savinova (2:01.56) of Russia and Alice Schmidt (2:01.65) of the US at the Olympic Stadium.
The top three in each of the six heats and six lucky losers others advanced to the semifinals.Tintu, who clocked 2:01.75seconds, faced a strong challenge from Malika Akkaoui (2:01.78) of Morocco.
Tintu, who started in lane No. 4, kept pace with the leaders for most the race but at the beginning of home stretch she was at fourth and it looked like she would fail to get an automatic qualification berth.
But Tintu just about overtook Malika with a desperate lunge to finish third. Tintu was a tad slower than her season's best of 2:01.09 and she will have to improve further if she wants to qualify for the final round. Out of 24 runners, eight will make the final.