Sprinters Dutee, Hima enter Asiad 200m semis

Jakarta: Indian athletes Dutee Chand and Hima Das qualified for the women's 200 metres semi-finals at the 18th Asian Games here on Tuesday.

Dutee won Heat 4 with a time of 23.37 seconds which earned her a direct spot in the semi-finals.

She was second in the overall standings at the end of the first round, behind Nigina Sharipova of Uzbekistan, who won Heat 3 with a personal best time of 23.31.

Hima clocked 23.47 to finish fourth in Heat 2, just 200th of a second short of a direct semis berth as Marie Knot of the Philippines took the third spot with 23.45.

But the sprinter from Assam earned a berth the semi-finals as one of the fastest losers in the heats as she was seventh in the overall standings.