(From left) Tintu Luka, Nirmala, Anu Mariam Jose and MR Poovamma, after winning the 4x400m relay gold, in Pune, on Sunday. Picture by Santosh Ghosh

Pune: In the end, Tintu Luka had the last laugh. Not many were convinced when she was hurriedly inducted in the 4x400 metres relay team as a last-minute replacement. And when the PT Usha ward finished a disappointing third in 800 metres on Sunday, many felt it would have been wiser to retain the original squad.

Yet, 90 minutes after running a moderate race in the 800 metres, Tintu became the toast of the crowd on the final night of the Asian Track and Field Championships at the Balewadi Sports Complex. She plotted India’s second gold medal of the meet in the 4x400 metres women’s relay.

Coming in as the second runner, the Kerala girl put India in the lead with a superb burst in her last 100 metres after Nirmala failed to gear up as the opening runner.

Once Tintu put India ahead, there was no stopping Anu Mariam Jose and MR Poovamma.

The duo ran with such vigour and energy that their closest rivals from China were left far behind. It not only helped India to win the gold but also to qualify for the World Championships in Moscow. This was the ninth time India triumphed in this particular event in the Asian meet.

To make the World meet, the Indian quartet needed to clock a time of 3.33 minutes. Poovamma’s last run as the anchorwoman ensured a time of 3.32:26 far better than second placed China (3.35:31). Apart from the relay squad, the only other Indian to qualify for Moscow was discus thrower Vikas Gowda.

Sunday proved highly successful for India as they bagged eight medals. While the relay team won gold, Asha Roy (200 metres), Renjith Maheshwari (men’s triple jump) and Jitin C Thomas (men’s high jump) won a silver each.

The bronze medals came from Dutee Chand (200 m for women), Tintu Luka (800m for women) Satinder Singh (400m hurdles) and Arpinder Singh (men’s triple jump). In 200 metres for women and men’s triple jump, India won two medals each.

Sunday’s medal haul helped India finish sixth in the rankings with two gold, six silver and nine bronze medals. China clinched another four gold on Sunday to top the medals tally with 16 gold, six silver and five bronze.

They were followed by Bahrain, who won 15 medals including five gold. The relay quartet was more excited about clinching a World championship spot than winning the gold.

“I ran one of the best races of my life. All of us were determined to win the gold and qualify for Moscow,” said Poovamma.

Asked whether the same team would be fielded for the World Championship, coach N Ramesh said: “the best team would be fielded.” He did not agree with the suggestion that Tintu should not have been included.

“Here is a team in which everyone knows their job. These girls had run together in many domestic meets. So, they had the necessary understanding. Moreover, baton changing in 4x400 metres relay is not as crucial as it is in 4x100 metres relay. We selected the team after taking a lot of things into consideration,” Ramesh said.

In men’s triple jump, Renjith missed the gold medal by a whisker. While China’s Cao Shuo cleared 16.77 metres, Renjith was at 16.76. He not only missed the gold but also a Moscow berth.

“It’s indeed frustrating, I was aiming for the gold,” said Renjith later, who received a lot of flak last year when all his three jumps earned the red flag in London Olympics.

“At the same time, I am happy that Arpinder has won a bronze. He is young and has a lot of room for improvement,” added the triple jumper.

Equally unlucky was high jumper Jithin Thomas, who bagged a joint silver medal along with Keyvan Ghanbarzadeh of Iran behind gold winner Bi Xiaoliang of China. All three were locked at a jump of 2.21 metres but the Chinese succeeded when the jump off was introduced.