KUALA LUMPUR: Southeast Asian champion, Umar Osman failed to qualify for the men’s 400m final at the 2023 Asian Athletics Championships after finishing fourth in the semi-finals at the Suphachalasai National Stadium in Bangkok yesterday.
The 2023 SEA Games gold medallist and 400m national record holder finished heat one with a time of 46.42s, with Japan’s Fuga Sato finishing first (45.61s), followed by Singhapurage Aruna Dharshana (45.79s) of Sri Lanka and India’s Rajesh Ramesh (45.91s) in third.
The top three runners in each heat and the next two fastest runners qualify for the final.
Umar’s time did not qualify him for the final, and the young runner could not fulfill his dream of beating the national record of 46.34s at the tournament.
Meanwhile, Japan’s Kentaro Sato was the fastest across the finish line in heat two, clocking 45.62s, followed by Yousef Ahmed Masrahi from Saudi Arabia (45.66s) and Ashraf Hussen M Osman (45.66s) from Qatar finished third.
Indian runner Muhammed Ajmal Variyathodi (45.76s) and Sri Lanka’s Rajakaruna Mudiyanselage Rajitha Neranjan Rajakaruna (46.12s) finished heat two in fourth and fifth respectively to qualify for the final.
At the 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia, last May, Umar created a sensation when he won the 400m gold with a time of 46.34s, erasing a 22-year-old national record. — BERNAMA
