[UPDATED] Asian Athletics: Umar falls short of 400m final

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 today.

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 in May, Umar created a sensation when he won the 400m gold with a time of 46.34s, erasing a 22-year national record.

Meanwhile, the national 4x100m quartet had to settle for sixth position after Khairul Hafiz Jantan, Jonathan Nyepa, Mohamad Thaqif Mohammad Hisham and Muhammad Azeem Fahmi recorded 39.17s in the event’s final.

Thailand’s Natawat Iamudom, Soraoat Dapbang, Chayut Khongprasit and Puripol Boonson defended the title with a new championship record of 38.55s.

They broke the previous record set by their compatriots – Sowan Ruttanapon, Bandit Chuangchai, Jirapong Meenapra and Siripol Punpa – who won gold in the 2019 edition in Doha, Qatar with a time of 38.72s.

The biennial tournament was not held in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The national women’s 4x100m squad lineup of Nurul Aliah Maisarah Nor Azmi, Zaidatul Husniah Zulkifli, Nur Afrina Batrisyia Mohamad Rizal and Chelsea Cassiopea Evali took fifth place, clocking 45.56s. – Bernama, July 12, 2023