Hima Das and PV Sindhu had a great outing on Day 7 of the Commonwealth Games as the former qualified for the 200m semifinals and Sindhu defeated Maldives' Fathimath Nabaaha Abdul Razzaq to enter the pre-quarterfinals of the women's singles event.
Hima Das qualified for the women's 200m semifinals after winning her heat with a timing of 23.42s at the Commonwealth Games here on Friday. The 22-year-old Hima led the five-woman field from the start with Rhoda Njobvu of Zambia clocking 23.85s to finish second while Jacent Nyamhunge of Uganda finished third with a timing of 24.07.
There are six heats lined up in the women's 200m and the top 16 will qualify for the semi-final. Hima won heat 2 but Favour Ofili of Nigeria (22.71s in Heat 1) and the formidable Elaine-Thompson-Herah (22.80s in heat 5) had superior timings. At least six athletes have clocked better times, compared to Hima, en route to their semi-final entries.
PV Sindhu sailed into the pre-quarterfinals of the women's singles event with a comfortable straight-game win over Maldives' Fathimath Nabaaha Abdul Razzaq at the Commonwealth Games here on Thursday. It was always going to be a tough task for Fathimath against the two-time Olympic medallist, who pocketed the Round of 32 match 21-4 21-11 in just 21 minutes.
Sindhu, the last edition's silver medallist in the singles, hardly broke a sweat while toying with her opponent in the first game. Without adopting an aggressive approach, Sindhu outfoxed the Maldives shuttler with her all-round game. She mostly used her deceptive drops shots to garner points.
In the second game, Fathimath produced some resistance initially and was on level terms with Sindhu till 9-9, as the Indian mostly gave away points on unforced errors. But Sindhu got her composure back and went into the breather leading 11-9. After the break, it was all Sindhu as she ran away with the game with Razzaq managing just two points, to book her place in the last 16.
(Inputs PTI)
