Babar 2nd Indian woman in Olympic track event final after PT Usha

RIO DE JANEIRO/NEW DELHI: Lalita Babar became only the second Indian woman to qualify for an individual Olympic track event on Saturday after reaching the final

RIO DE JANEIRO/NEW DELHI: Lalita Babar became only the second Indian woman to qualify for an individual Olympic track event on Saturday after reaching the final of the 3,000m steeplechase in the Rio Games.

HT Image

The 27-year-old, who won bronze at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games and last year won the continental title and reached the final at the Beijing world championships, set a national mark by clocking 9:19.76 to qualify.

Babar emulated PT Usha, who reached the 400m hurdles final at the 1984 Los Angeles Games before finishing fourth. Babar was fourth in her heat and qualified as one of the fastest finishers. She was placed seventh among 15 athletes who qualified for the finals.

.