Hima Das of India won her heat at the Commonwealth Games on Friday, clocking a time of 23.42 seconds to advance to the women’s 200m semifinals. Hima, 22, took the lead early on in the five-woman field. Rhoda Njobvu of Zambia came in second with a time of 23.85 seconds, and Jacent Nyamhunge of Uganda came in third with a time of 24.07. In the women’s 200-meter race, six heats are scheduled, and the top 16 finishers will advance to the semifinals.
Although Favour Ofili of Nigeria (22.71s in Heat 1) and the formidable Elaine-Thompson-Herah (22.80s in Heat 5) had better timings, Hima won heat 2. Compared to Hima, at least six athletes have achieved faster timings to qualify for the semifinals.
Das has not yet received a medal at the CWG. The woman genius has every opportunity of winning the gold medal, though, having previously taken home three medals from the Asian Games.
