KARACHI: Pakistan’s sprinter Shajar Abbas has qualified for the semi-final of the 200m event in the ongoing Asian Athletics Championship on Saturday in Bangkok, Thailand.
The sprinter completed the 200m race in 21.06 seconds — finishing seventh among 36 runners — and secured the second position in the fifth heat.
The semi-final of the 200m event will be played this evening.
On the other hand, another Pakistani sprinter Abdul Moeed Baloch failed in the heat of 200 as he finished fifth in 21.86 seconds.
The top four from each of the five heats and the four after them with the best timing qualified for the semi-finals.
Earlier on Friday (July 14), Abbas failed to qualify for the final of the 100m event after finishing fourth while clocking 10.45 during his heat. He could have qualified for the final if he had repeated his personal best of 10.37 seconds, since the last athlete who qualified for the next round had a time of 10.38 seconds.
Apart from Abbas, the Pakistan team in the event comprises javelin thrower Mohammad Yasir Sultan (WAPDA) and sprinters Abdul Moeed (PAF) and Esha Imran (WAPDA).
Coach Rana Sajjad is accompanying the team to provide guidance and support making sure that the athletes are performing up to their best.
Faizan Lakhani Faizan Lakhani is Deputy Editor (Sports) at Geo News.