Thu, 28 Mar, 2024

Rio Olympics: Gaurika Fails to Qualify Despite topping the Heat

By Saras Karanjit

Photo Courtesy:Google.com

Rio Olympics’ youngest participant, Gaurika Singh, manages to top the first heat but fails to qualify for the next round. She beat two other participants from Samoa and Kosovo with a time of 1 minute 8.45 seconds in the 100 meters backstroke at the Olympics on Sunday.

Although she topped the heat, only 16 players with the best timings would qualify for the semi-finals. Her timing ranked her in 31st position among the 34 players who participated from different nations. Singh could not beat her personal best of 1 minute 7.13 seconds either.

Kathleen Baker from the USA clinched the 1st position with a time of 58.84 seconds. Likewise, Eyglo Osk from Iceland managed to grab the 16th position with a time of 1 minute 0.89 seconds and qualify for the semis.

[caption id="attachment_12959" align="aligncenter" width="800"]Gaurika Singh (NEP) of Nepal competes at the 2016 Rio Olympics Games at Rio de Janerio, on Sunday, August 7, 2016. Photo: Reuters Gaurika Singh (NEP) of Nepal competes at the 2016 Rio Olympics Games at Rio de Janerio, on Sunday, August 7, 2016. Photo: Reuters[/caption]

Gaurika Singh was one of the popular players in this edition of the Olympics because of her young age. She has shown a lot of courage to compete with the world’s best. She is a girl with great potential and can well prove to be one of the greatest the country has ever produced.

Gaurika being the youngest participant, age 13, is the daughter of SLC 2050 B.S. topper, Garima Rana. In a year’s time, Singh has managed to write 7 national records in her name.