Latest news with #AsianAthleticsChampionships.
The Star
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Star
Singapore's Shanti Pereira pipped to 200m gold by Chinese ace at Asian athletic meet
Singapore's Shanti Pereira (centre) en route to winning a silver in the 200m event at the Asian Athletics Championships.-- PHOTO: SINGAPORE ATHLETICS SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): Singapore's sprint queen Shanti Pereira clinched silver in the women's 200m at the Asian Athletics Championships on May 31. At the Gumi Civic Stadium in South Korea, the 28-year-old clocked a season-best time of 22.98sec, just 0.01sec behind gold medallist Chen Yujie (22.97) and ahead of Li Yuting (23.23) both of China. Defending champion Pereira had qualified second quickest in the field of 20 after clocking 23.59sec. Japan's Remi Tsuruta topped the heats with 23.37sec, while China's Chen (23.60) was third. Pereira, who won a 100m and 200m double in the 2023 edition in Thailand, had also settled for silver in the 100m final on May 28 after clocking 11.41sec, losing out to China's Liang Xiaojing by just 0.04sec. Besides the two creditable silver medals, Pereira ended her campaign in Gumi with a national record, after teaming up with Elizabeth-Ann Tan, Shannon Tan and Laavinia Jaiganth to set a new mark of 44.66sec in the women's 4x100m relay. The Singaporeans, who finished fifth out of seven teams, surpassed the previous time of 44.96sec set in 2017 by Pereira, Dipna Lim, Wendy Enn and Nur Izlyn Zaini. China won the race with a 43.28sec effort, ahead of India (43.86sec) and Thailand (44.26sec). Singapore Athletics (SA) president Lien Choong Luen praised Pereira for her performances. He said: 'Shanti's back-to-back silver medals over 100m and 200m in Korea is an incredible feat in field packed with lots of talent. 'While her performance at the 2023 edition saw different medal colours, the ability to stay consistent over multiple years is a testament to her determination and that of coach Luis (Cunha) and her team. 'Her longevity and performance is an inspiration for our young athletes.' In other results, Singapore's 400m hurdler Calvin Quek clocked 50.94sec to finish last in the field of seven runners. The event was won by Qatar's Abderrahman Samba (48.00sec), with Chinese Taipei's Lin Chung-wei (49.73) and Japan's Shunta Inoue (50.02) finishing in the minor podium spots. Meanwhile, in the men's 4x100m relay, despite a promising start, Singaporeans Daryl Tan, Yan Teo, Xander Ho and Marc Louis finished last out of seven teams in a time of 40.96sec. Hosts South Korea claimed the gold with a meet record of 38.49sec, ahead of Thailand (38.78sec) and China (38.82sec). - The Straits Times/ANN
India Today
22-05-2025
- Sport
- India Today
Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem responds to Neeraj Chopra's 'not close friends' comment
Olympic javelin champion Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan declined to comment on Indian star Neeraj Chopra's recent remarks about their relationship, citing the current cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan. Arshad was asked about Neeraj during a press conference in Lahore ahead of the upcoming Asian Athletics Championships."I don't want to make any comments about Neeraj because of the ongoing conflict with India," said Arshad on Thursday, May come from a village, and I will only say that my family and I will always stand with our army," he added. Neeraj Chopra had recently clarified in an interview that he and Arshad were "never really close friends". His remarks came after backlash from a section of Indian social media users for inviting Arshad to the now-postponed inaugural Neeraj Chopra Classic-a World Athletics-approved event originally set to be held in extended invitations to top international javelin throwers, including Arshad, prior to the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which claimed the lives of 26 tourists. In the wake of the incident, Neeraj confirmed that his relationship with Arshad would not remain the same, given the rising tensions between the two distancing himself personally, Neeraj emphasised that he remains open to helping anyone in the athletics community who is respectful and rivalry between Neeraj and Arshad has captivated fans since the 2018 Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. It reached new heights at the Paris Olympics, where Arshad claimed gold with an Olympic record throw of 92.97 ON ULTIMATE 100M AIMNeeraj, for his part, made headlines on 16 May by joining the elite 90-metre club with a personal best of 90.23 metres at the Doha Diamond League. He became only the 25th athlete in men's javelin history to breach the 90m mark, a feat that had long eluded him. Despite his career-best performance, Neeraj finished second, behind Germany's Julian Weber, who threw 91.06 asked about Neeraj's recent form, Arshad offered a brief response: "It's good for him."Arshad, who opted out of the Doha meet, reiterated that his primary competition is with himself."I have always said that I always compete with myself and my ambition is to hit the 100m mark one day," Arshad Pakistani athlete will begin his 2025 season at the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea, starting May 27.
