India's Hima Das agonizingly fell short of a spot in the women's 200m final of the Commonwealth Games 2022 (CWG) by 0.01s on Friday. Hima finished her semi-final with a time of 23.42s, finishing third in the race.
Namibia's Christine Mboma finished first in the semi-final 2 with a time of 22.93s while Ella Connolly of Australia pipped Hima to second place with a time of 23.41s. Both Mboma and Connolly qualified for the final.
There are three semi-final heats in the women's 200m with the top two from each semi-final and the next two fastest advancing to the final.
At the end of all three semi-final races, Hima was 10th in the standings. Gina Bass of The Gambia and Beth Dobbin progressed to the final as the two sprinters with the best timings behind the six qualifiers from the three semi-finals.
Gina Bass clocked 23.10s while Beth Dobbin progressed with a time of 23.28s. Jamaica's Elaine Thompson-Herah, who has five Olympic gold medals to her name, topped the semi-finals with a time of 22.63s.
The Indian athlete did well to start and kept up the pace with most of the field. However, in the end, she fell just short, behind Ella Connolly.
Watch the race here:
Hima Das had finished on top in her heat, clocking 23.42s, to qualify for the semi-finals.
The Assam-based sprinter led the five-woman field from the start, with Rhoda Njobvu of Zambia clocking 23.85s to finish second. Jacent Nyamhunge of Uganda finished third with a timing of 24.07.
Hima Das to participate in relay
Hima Das will also be a part of India's 4x400m relay team. The Indian women's relay team were in the news before their departure to Birmingham after they were hit by a doping scandal.
Dhanalakshmi Sekhar was first ruled out of CWG 2022 after failing a dope test, with Jilna VM soon following suit.
Dutee Chand, the national 100m record holder, Hima, Simi, and Srabani Nanda are the four members of the short relay team.