Commonwealth Games: Shajar misses semi-final with career-best timing in 100m race

• Shajar Abbas got his career-best performance in the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
• However, he failed to reach the next round in the 100-metre race.
• His 10.38-second timing was among the top 27 however, he could not make it to the top 27 players, under the rules.

BIRMINGHAM: Despite being among the top 27 athletes in the ongoing Commonwealth Games, Pakistan's young athlete Shajar Abbas could not make it to the semi-finals in the 100-metre race and missed the next round owing to a difference of 0.01 seconds.

However, he covered the distance in 10.38 seconds, setting the best timing record by any Pakistani in international events.

The 22-year-old sprinter participated in heat number 8 of the 100-metre race. He finished at the fourth spot in this heat with his career-best timing of 10.38 seconds.

According to the rules of athletics, besides two top players from each of ten heats, seven athletes with the best timings were to reach the semi-finals.

After missing a berth among the top two in his heat, Shajar Abbas could not snag a spot among the other seven athletes either with a narrow margin of 0.01 seconds.

Surprisingly, Shajar's timing was among the top 27. But, he did not make it to the top 27 players who advanced to the next round. Australia's Jake Doran also reached the semi-finals with a timing of 10.39 seconds as he finished second in the second heat.

Despite the better timing, Shajar could not get the semi-final spot. Pakistan Athletics Federation President Akram Sahi confirmed to Geo News that Shajar achieved the best-ever timing in the 100-metre race by any Pakistani in any international event.

Pakistan is still far from getting its first medal in the ongoing games in the UK city of Birmingham.