Pakistan’s Israr Hussain and Kiran Khan failed to impress at the World Swimming Championships, turning out disappointing performances.
Husain, who was chosen by the Pakistan Swimming Federation to compete in the 100m freestyle, failed to reach the semi-finals as Australia’s James Magnussen swam 47.9 seconds to top the timings.
Similarly, Khan was also off to a disappointing start in the 50m backstroke, failing to qualify for the semi-finals. Russia’s Anastasia Zueva finished first in the last-four, coming out on top with 27.9 seconds, while Spain’s Mercedes Peris Minguet secured second position. Khan will now compete in the 50m butterfly tomorrow in a bid to qualify for the Olympics.
Before leaving for China, the national champion had declared that she will be aiming to finish the butterfly event in 28 seconds in order to get a wild-card entry for the mega event next year.
Phelps snaps losing streak
US great Michael Phelps got his world championships back on track with a convincing 200m butterfly victory that kept alive his hopes for a second straight five-title haul.
The Olympic champion, who has been in uninspiring form, fought off a late challenge by Japan’s Takeshi Matsuda to win by 0.67 seconds, with China’s Wu Peng finishing third.
A relieved Phelps admitted that he had not enjoyed his earlier losses at the event.
“I didn’t want to lose again,” he said. “Having a number of defeats this year is extremely frustrating for me and I didn’t like the feeling. So I kind of wanted to have the feeling of winning a race again. It feels good to win a race.” (With additional input by AFP)
Published in The Express Tribune, July 28th, 2011.
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