Kiran Pahal Surprises with Olympic Qualification in Women's 400m
Haryana athlete Kiran Pahal qualified for the Paris Olympics in the women's 400m event, clocking a personal best of 50.92 seconds at the National Inter-State Championships. Despite personal and physical challenges, Pahal secured her berth by surpassing the qualification mark of 50.95 seconds.
Haryana's Kiran Pahal stunned the athletics community by qualifying for the Paris Olympics in the women's 400m. Clocking a personal best of 50.92 seconds on the opening day of the National Inter-State Championships, the 23-year-old surpassed the automatic qualification mark of 50.95 seconds.
In what was regarded as an exceptional performance, Pahal won her semifinal heat ahead of Gujarat's Devy Aniba Zala and Kerala's Sneha K. Returning after a year and overcoming multiple hamstring injuries, she expressed her surprise and joy at the unexpected achievement.
'It's a surprise for me. I never thought I would qualify for the Olympics and prepare for it. There is no bigger achievement than this,' Pahal emotionally stated. Despite the pressure of preliminaries, her final aspirations remain high as she aims to break the national record time of 50.79 seconds set by Hima Das in 2018.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
ALSO READ
Indian Archery Team Tops Qualifier, Eyes Paris Olympics
Indian men's recurve archery team fails to secure Paris Olympics quota, to rely on world rankings for a spot
IOC gives 14 Russians, 11 Belarusians neutral status for Paris Olympics in first round of decisions
Faith Kipyegon Eyes Double Gold at Paris Olympics
Andy Murray Leads Team GB at Paris Olympics