Kathmandu, August 16:

Nepali sprinter Chandra Kala Thapa’s participation at the Beijing Olympics ended up in a disappointment today as she failed to even better her own personal record, let alone the national record, in the women’s 100m heat.

Thapa finished the heat in 13.15 seconds, far worse than the time which earned her the Games tickets. The Nepal Police Club runner had earned the wild card with the timing of 12.54 seconds during the selection tournament in Kathmandu. Devi Maya Paneru holds the 100-metre national record at 12.19 seconds.

Another Nepali athlete, Arjun Kumar Basnet is scheduled to participate in the marathon on August 24. Apart from Basnet, the only other Nepali player still to participate at the Games is taekwondo star Deepak Bista. Only the second Nepali player to qualify for the Olympics after taekwondo queen Sangina Baidya, Bista is slated to participate in the welter-weight (below 80kg) section on August 22. The draw for the category is slated for Monday.