Imranur advances to 100m semifinals in Asian Games

Bangladesh's fastest man Imranur Rahman advanced to the men's 100m semifinals at the 20th Asian Games after finishing fourth in his heat at the Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium in Japan on Thursday.

The England-based sprinter clocked 10.49 seconds to finish fourth among six competitors in Heat 5 and qualified for the semifinals as the 22nd-fastest athlete overall. Imranur had also reached the semifinals at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou.

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The 33-year-old could not match his personal best of 10.11 seconds or his season's best of 10.26 seconds. His qualifying time was also slower than the 10.44 he clocked in Hangzhou.

Imranur will compete in one of the three semifinal heats on Friday. He was eliminated in the semifinals in Hangzhou after clocking 10.42 seconds.

Two Indian sprinters, Animesh Kujur and Gurindervir Singh, also advanced to the semifinals with faster times of 10.36 and 10.38 seconds respectively. Maldivian sprinters Saaid Hasan and Ibadullah Adam were eliminated after clocking 10.85 and 11.06 seconds respectively.

In other disciplines, Bangladesh's men's hockey team defeated Sri Lanka 5-1, while the beach volleyball team beat Maldives 2-1.