After Sania Mirza, Rohan Bopanna left to contest the bronze medal play-off in the tennis mixed doubles’ event there is another hope for India getting medal this olympics season. Lalita Babar becomes the first Indian to qualify for the final of an athletics track event at the Olympics since PT Usha in 1984.

Lalita Babar on Saturday qualified for the women’s 3000m steeplechase final after finishing fourth in the qualifying heat 2 with a national record time while compatriot Sudha Singh was eliminated in the Olympic Games.

Lalita, who had won the bronze medal in the event in the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, two years ago, in fact finished with the seventh-best time in the heats in a new national record of 9 minutes, 19.76 seconds. Lalita will be seen in the final of the gruelling race on August 15.  After qualifying for the final, an elated Lalita said that she was looking to give her best in the final on Independence day.