Nirmala bows out of 400m, hopes on Neeraj

THERE WAS ALSO DISAPPOINTMENT FOR HEPTATHLETE SWAPNA BARMAN, WHO TALLIED 5431 POINTS TO FINISH 26TH AND BOTTOM

India’s top quarter miler Nirmala Sheoran bowed out of the women’s 400m semifinals in the World Athletics Championships at London on Monday night. Running in lane three in the second semifinal, Nirmala was slow off the blocks and looked sluggish even at the halfway mark.

She eventually finished seventh, clocking 53.07 secs, having run 52.01 secs in the preliminary heat. The national champion was ranked 22rd out of 24 competitors overall. Winner at last month’s Asian championships, Nirmala had clocked 51.28 secs at the Federation Cup in June to earn the passage for the world meet.

There was also disappointment for heptathlete Swapna Barman, who tallied 5431 points to finish 26th and bottom. The Asian champion could not repeat her performance of 5900 points. Belgium’s Olympic champ Nafissatour Thiam won (6784 points).

Athletics Federation of India president Adille Sumariwalla said Swapna had back pain after the first event (100m hurdles), which went from bad to worse. “Her overall performance was encouraging considering the pain,” he said. Swapna, 20, had suffered a lower-back injury during the 2015-16 season, forcing her to avoid the high jump event for six months. The athlete from Kolkata will undergo rehabilitation before resuming training for the 2018 season.

The men’s 5,000m will be in focus on Wednesday with India’s G Lakshmanan in the fray.

India’s best hope is the men’s javelin throw, to be held on Thursday with all eyes on world junior record-holder Neeraj Chopra. Besides Neeraj, Davinder Singh will also compete in the event.