KATHMANDU: Nepali athlete Saraswati Chaudhary crashed out of the preliminary heats of the 100m race at the Tokyo Olympic Games on Friday. Chaudhary, who earned the chance to compete in the Games as the last-minute replacement, completed the distance in 12.91 seconds, way behind her personal best of 12.56.
She finished eighth out of nine athletes in Heat-2 at the Olympic Stadium, ahead of Saudi Arabia's Yasmeen Aldabbagh, who completed the race in 13.34 seconds.
"Although I was not able to meet the expectations, it was a great experience to participate in the Olympic Games, which is always a dream for athletes," said Chaudhary, who was included in the Olympics squad in place of Gopi Chandra Parki.
Marathon runner Parki's entry was not accepted at the last moment due to large number of entrants in marathon and Chaudhary was recommended for consideration after the IOC asked for a woman sprinter under Universality place. "I will put in my best efforts and hope to do well in upcoming events," she added.
Her event ended Nepal's challenge in the Games. Shooter Kalpana Pariyar and swimmers Alex Gadegaard Shah and Gaurika Singh set new national records in their respective events, while judoka Soniya Bhatta crashed out of first round in women's below-48kg weight category.
A version of this article appears in the print on July 31 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
