Disappointing outings for Ankita Dhyani and Parul Chaudhary in women's 5000m; fail to qualify for the finals in Paris Olympics 2024
India's hopes in the women’s 5000m at the Paris Olympics 2024 faced a setback as both Ankita Dhyani and Parul Chaudhary failed to qualify for the finals. The two athletes, who had shown promise leading up to the event, were unable to secure a top-eight finish in their respective heats, leaving Indian fans disappointed.
Ankita Dhyani finished at the 19th position while Parul could muster only a 14th spot despite showing a promise earlier.
In Heat 1, Ankita Dhyani struggled from the start. She clocked 3:12.4 at the 1000m mark, lagging behind in 19th place. As the race progressed, her pace did not improve significantly. By 3000m, she had fallen to the last position, timing 9:34.1.
Ultimately, Ankita finished the race with a time of 16:19.38, placing her 20th in her heat. Despite her efforts, she could not keep up with the leaders, such as Kenya's Faith Kipyegon, who won the heat with a time of 14:57.56. Ankita's performance was far from her best, and she will need to reassess her strategy and training moving forward.
After Ankita Dhyani, Parul Chaudhary misses qualification in the 5000m final at Paris Olympics 2024
While Ankita Dhyani finished at the bottom two, Parul Chaudhary showed more promise in Heat 2 but however missed the qualification mark by a whisker. Initially, she stayed within the middle of the pack, clocking 3:04.8 at the 1000m mark. By the halfway point, she had slightly dropped to 17th, with a time of 6:10.5.
Parul's strongest segment came between 3000m and 4000m, where she managed to move up to 15th place. However, despite a commendable effort and clocking a season-best time of 15:10.68, she finished 14th and missed the national record by a mere 0.3 seconds. Her performance, while respectable, was not enough to advance to the final.
The heat was won by Kenya's Beatrice Chebet with a time of 15:00.73, and the last qualifying time for the final was 15:02.89.