Hima Das storms into 400m final at U-20 Worlds
Her main rival, American Taylor Manson won the second semifinal in 53.00s, while Asian junior champion Jisna Mathew failed to make the final after finishing fifth in the same race in 53.86s.
Published : Jul 11, 2018 22:11 IST
There were no surprises as Hima Das entered the women’s 400m final after winning her semifinal in 52.10s at the IAAF World junior athletics championships in Tampere, Finland, on Wednesday.
Her main rival, American Taylor Manson, won the second semifinal in 53.00s, while Asian junior champion Jisna Mathew failed to make the final after finishing fifth in the same race in 53.86s.
“I think I went too hard in the first 200m. The 400 is a very technical event, I hope to make the necessary adjustments and clock my best time in the final,” said Hima, the Assam sprinter, who was once again the fastest qualifier from the three semifinal heats.
Kerala’s junior national record holder, M. Sreeshankar, who went into the men’s long jump as the world’s fourth best junior jumper this year with his personal best 7.99m, finished sixth with 7.75m on his second attempt.
Japan’s Yuki Hashioka won the gold with 8.03m and he was the only jumper to cross eight metres on Wednesday. Cuban Maikal Y. Vidal, the world leader, took the silver with 7.94m.
READ: World U-20 C'ships: Hima fastest qualifier, Jisna joins her in 400m semifinal
ASHISH JAKHAR IN FINAL
Meanwhile, Asian junior champion Ashish Jakhar qualified for the men’s hammer throw final with a best of 70.52m, while the other Indian Damneet Singh was far from his best and failed to make the cut after finishing sixth in his qualification group with 67.48m.
In the men’s 400m, Gaurav crashed out after the first round heat, taking the fifth spot with a poor 48.61s, one of his slowest time in the last few years.
On Tuesday night, India’s Kartik Kumar finished 12th in the men’s 10,000m in 30:30.28s. Kenyan Rhonex Kipruto won the event in a meet record time of 27:21.08.
In the women’s discus throw, Arpandeep Kaur missed qualifying for the final with a best of 48.17m in the qualification round.