Who is Tintu Luka?

India's Tintu Luka entered the semi-finals of the women's two-lap race by finishing third in 2 minutes, 1.75 seconds in heat number two. She narrowly pipped Morocco's Malika Akkaoui. In the semi-final tonight she will be up against the likes of Caster Semenya and Alysia Johnson Montano.

Luka, one of India's most promising talents in athletics, is from from Kannur, Kerala. She trains under the watchful eyes of former Indian athlete PT Usha at the Usha School of Athletics in Koyilandy.

Luka broke into the international scene when she won the gold in the 4x400m relay event at the 15th Doha Asian Games in 2006. She followed that up by winning the silver medal at the Asian Junior Athletic Championships held in Jakarta.

In 2010, Luka broke the 15-year national 800m record held by Shiney Wilson at the Continental Cup in Croatia where she timed 1:59.17. However, she finished a disappointing sixth at the 2012 Commonwealth Games at Delhi.

In response to this performance, her mentor PT Usha said that Luka lost her concentration because she could not cope with the building crowd pressure. Soon, Luka ended up winning the bronze medal in the 800m at the 2010 Asian Games.

She also won multiple medals at the Asian Grand Prix and Asian All Stars Athletic Meet in 2010. Usha believes she has the potential to give India its first Olympic medal in athletics and the 2012 London Games might just be the launch pad for this exciting young talent.