Pakistan sprinter Shajar Abbas has qualified for the men’s 200 metres semi-finals at the Asian Games after recording a time of 21.23 seconds in Nagoya on Saturday.
Competing at the Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium, Abbas finished third in his heat and ranked 17th overall, securing his progression to the next round.
Japan’s Soshi Mizukubo produced the fastest performance in Abbas’s heat, finishing in 20.72 seconds. Chinese Taipei’s Ke Wu-yen-ming recorded 20.84, while China’s Huang Youwen clocked 20.90. Saudi Arabia’s Abdullah Mohammed and Thailand’s Puripol Boonson both finished in 20.97.
Abbas’s 21.23 placed him just 0.02 seconds behind Iran’s Benyamin Yousefi, who ranked 16th overall with 21.21. His time was also close to Bahrain’s Abbas Ali, who finished 10th overall.
The tightly contested opening round saw several athletes separated by fractions of a second, with Abbas finishing ahead of runners representing countries including South Korea, Oman, Malaysia, the Philippines, Lebanon and Uzbekistan.
Qualification keeps the Pakistani sprinter in contention for a place in the 200m final.
The Asian Games record in the event stands at 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, while Jamaica’s Usain Bolt holds the world record of 19.19 seconds.