Star Indian sprinter Hima Das qualified for the women's 200m semifinals after winning her heat with a timing of 23.42s at the Commonwealth Games 2022 on Thursday.
The 22-year-old Hima led the five-woman field from the start with Rhoda Njobvu of Zambia clocking 23.85s to finish second while Jacent Nyamhunge of Uganda finished third with a timing of 24.07. There are six heats lined up in the women's 200m and the top-16 will qualify for the semi-final.
Hima won heat 2 but Favour Ofili of Nigeria (22.71s in Heat 1) and the formidable Elaine-Thompson-Herah (22.80s in heat 5) had superior timings. At least six athletes have clocked better time, compared to Hima, en route their semi-final entries.
Meanwhile, in the women's hammer throw event, India's Manju Bala advanced to the final while compatriot Sarita Singh failed to make the cut. The 33-year-old Bala finished 11th in the qualification round with a best throw of 59.68m in her first attempt.
In the same event, the other Indian athlete Sarita failed to make the final after she finished 13th with her best throw of 57.48. According to the rules, best 12 performers advance to the final, which will be held on Saturday, August 6.
Canada's Camryn Rogers topped the qualification round with best throw of 74.68m, which is a Commonwealth Games record.
Srikanth, Sindhu Advance
Ace Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth sailed into the pre-quarterfinals of the women’s and men’s singles event with comfortable wins on Thursday. While Sindhu got better of Maldives' Fathimath Nabaaha Abdul Razzaq, Srikanth defeated Uganda’s Daniel Wangaliya 21-9, 21-9.
It was always going to be a tough task for Fathimath against the two-time Olympic medallist, who pocketed the Round of 32 match 21-4, 21-11 in just 21 minutes. Sindhu, the last edition's silver medallist in the singles, hardly broke a sweat while toying with her opponent in the first game.
Without adopting an aggressive approach, Sindhu outfoxed the Madives shuttler with her all-round game. She mostly used her deceptive drops shots to garner points. In the second game, Fathimath produced some resistance initially and was on level terms with Sindhu till 9-9, as the Indian mostly gave away points on unforced errors.
But Sindhu got her composure back and went into the breather leading 11-9. After the break, it was all Sindhu as she ran away with the game with Razzaq managing just two points, to book her place in the last-16.
