World Athletics Championships: Liaqat fails again at international level

Pakistan sprinter finishes 48th out of 55 in 200m event.

KARACHI:

Pakistan’s Liaqat Ali failed to impress again at the international stage, finishing 48th out of 55 sprinters with a timing of 21.90 seconds in his IAAF World Athletics Championships 200m race in Moscow, Russia.

Liaqat finished last in the second heat.

The sprinter had recently done well at the Asian Athletics Championships where he had managed 21.24s and was expected to break the national record of 21.15s, which was set by his coach Maqsood Ahmed back in 1999.

“It’s a disappointing performance,” Maqsood told The Express Tribune.

“He did not start the race at a brisk pace which resulted in a slow reaction time. That ultimately affected his timings. Liaqat had done well in the Asian championships but when he returned to Pakistan, he didn’t train for 15 days which is why he looked rusty.”

Maqsood added that he tried his best to help Liaqat gain full fitness into the competition, but time was not on their side.

Bolt safely into 200m semi-finals

Two-time defending champion Usain Bolt safely negotiated his way into the semi-finals of the 200m event.

The 26-year-old Jamaican clocked an easy-going 20.66sec.

After a good start, Bolt was up on the field in a matter of metres and seemed to ease off fully 40 metres from the finish line.

“I’m feeling good. I’m not a morning person. I worked really hard this week,” said Bolt, who has been nursing a sore foot after regaining his 100m title on Sunday.

“It’s feeling better. I have worked on it for the last four days.”

He will be joined by all the main favourites in today’s semi-finals, with the final to round off the evening session of day eight of action at the Luzhniki Stadium.

Jamaican teammates Warren Weir, the Olympic bronze medallist from London, Nickel Ashmeade and debutant Jason Livermore all went through.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 17^th, 2013.

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