Pakistan sprinter clocks 21.23 seconds in heats to book his place in the next round
Shajar Abbas qualified for the men’s 200 metres semi-finals at the Asian Games in Nagoya on Saturday after clocking 21.23 seconds in the heats.
Abbas finished 17th overall but secured his place in the semi-finals, completing heat 2 at the Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium in third position.
Japan’s Soshi Mizukubo won the heat in 20.72 seconds, followed by Chinese Taipei’s Wu-yen-ming Ke in 20.84 and China’s Huang Youwen in 20.90. Saudi Arabia’s Abdullah Mohammed and Thailand’s Puripol Boonson both ran 20.97.
Abbas crossed the line in 21.23, just 0.13 seconds behind Iran’s Benyamin Yousefi, who finished 16th overall in 21.21. The Pakistani sprinter’s time was also only 0.10 seconds behind Bahrain’s Abbas Ali, who placed 10th.
The result ensured Abbas remained in contention for a place in the 200m final.
The opening round produced a tightly packed field, with several athletes separated by only fractions of a second. Abbas finished ahead of competitors from Oman, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Lebanon, Uzbekistan and other nations.
At the sharp end of the heat, Mizukubo’s 20.72 seconds was the fastest time recorded in the race. The Games record remains 20.14 seconds, set by Qatar’s Femi Ogunode at the 2014 Games in Incheon. China’s Xie Zhenye holds the Asian record of 19.88 seconds, while Jamaica’s Usain Bolt remains the world-record holder at 19.19.
