Qatar's Ismail Advances To 400M Semis With Personal Best

Doha, Qatar: Qatar's reigning Asian champion Ammar Ismail delivered a memorable performance in a thrilling men's 400m heat at the World Athletics Championships yesterday to secure a spot in the semi-finals.

Despite finishing fourth in the fifth heat at Tokyo's National Stadium, Ismail's powerful run saw him cross the line in a new personal best time of 44.63 seconds, also renewing Asia's best time of the season. Ismail was ranked 16th among the 24 semi-finalists who advanced.

The highly competitive heat was won by South Africa's Zakithi Nene, who clocked a time of 44.34. The second and third places were decided in a photo finish, with Vernon Norwood of the USA taking second and Hungary's Attila Molnar finishing third, both with a time of 44.55. Molnar's time set a new national record for Hungary, earning him direct qualification to the next round alongside Nene and Norwood.

The Qatari athlete, who secured his spot as one of the fastest non-automatic qualifiers, will now compete in the first semi-final tomorrow at 3:35 PM Qatar time.

The first two finishers of each of the three semi-finals, along with the two fastest athletes from the remaining participants, will advance to the final, which will take place on September 18.

Five Qatar athletes in action today

The evening session of today's event line-up will see a total of five Qatar athletes in action at the National Stadium in Tokyo.

The men's 400 metres hurdles will see three Qatar athletes take to the track in a single event for the first time in history. Qatar's main medal hope, former World Championships bronze winner and current Asian record holder Abderrahman Samba, Asian champion Bassem Hemeida and Ismail Doudai Abakar will highlight the country's remarkable presence in the one-lap hurdles event. The heats will start at 1:35pm Qatar time.

Also today, pole vaulter Seif Mohamed, who set a new national record on his way to advancing to the final, will take part in the medal round at 1:49pm.

Later in the afternoon, at 2:23 pm, Omar Doudai Abakar will be in action in the men's 110 metres hurdles heats, aiming to finish within the top 24 runners who will advance to the semi-finals.

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