Luka fails to qualify for semis, Lalita finishes eighth

Lalita Babar finished a creditable eighth in the 3000m steeplechase event while Tintu Luka crashed out in the first round heats of the 800m race on the fifth day of the World Athletics Championships here today.

Given the gap in the personal best times with other athletes in the competition, Lalita was not expected to stand on the podium though she had smashed her own national record with a 9:27.86s effort in the semifinals on Monday.

But the 26-year-old Maharashtrian girl ran a good race to become the first Indian track athlete (male and female) to finish in the top eight in a World Championship. So far, only two athletes -- both from field events (long jumper Anju Booby George and discus thrower Vikas Gowda) -- have finished better than Lalita in a World Championships.

Lalita broke off the pack of runners early on to set the pace of the race but ran out of steam as seven of her rivals overtook her and left her behind with two rounds remaining.

Kenya's Hyvin Kiyeng Jepkemoi won the event in 9:19.11s while Tunisia's Olympic silver medallist Habibi Ghribi (9:19.24s) and Germany's Gesa Felicitas Krause took the silver and bronze respectively.

The 26-year-old Luka, the reigning Asian champion and national record holder, clocked her season's best timing of 2:00.95s to finish seventh in the first of the six heats to fail to qualify for the semifinals. Three top finishers in each of the six heats and the next six fastest timers qualify for the semifinals.