Pakistani swimmer Bisma Khan became the country's six athlete on Friday to crash out of the Tokyo Olympics 2020 after a disappointing show in Heat 5 of the women's 50-meter freestyle event.
With 27.78 seconds, Bisma finished 7th out of eight athletes in Heat 5, with an overall rank of 56 out of 81 swimmers in the 50m freestyle category. The top 16 qualify for the semi-final.
She was 1.44 seconds behind the best swimmer in her heat and 3.76 seconds overall. The 19-year-old, however, improved on her personal best that was 27.90 seconds, which is also a national record in this particular category. She is due to fly back to Pakistan later on Friday.
Pakistani judoka Shah Hussain crashes out of Tokyo Olympics 2020
The Lahore-born is the current national champion swimmer and holds national records in five events. She won gold at the South Asian Junior Aquatic Championship, a third-place finish in the 4th Islamic Solidarity Games 2017, and a silver medal at the 13th South Asian Games 2019.
Bisma is the 6th Pakistani athlete, out of a total contingent of 10, to crash out of the Olympics medal race after Talha Talib (weightlifting), Gulfam Joseph (men’s 10m AirPistol), Haseeb Tariq (freestyle swimming 100-meter), Mahoor Shahzad (badminton), and Shah Hussain Shah (Judo) failed to inspire in their respective events.
Pakistan swimmer Haseeb Tariq's Tokyo Olympics campaign comes to an end
Talib, who competed in the 67kg event, was the only standout performer from Pakistan's contingent. Lifting a total weight of 320kg in three attempts, Talha fell only 2 points short of a bronze medal.
The remaining players, including judoka Shah Hussain who was making his second Olympics appearance, were knocked out in the opening rounds.
Pakistan is now relying on its four remaining athletes to make a mark. Khalil Akhtar and Ghulam Bashir will take part in the 25m rapid-fire event on August 5, while sprinter Najma Parveen will be in action in the 200m sprinting event on August 3. Arshad Nadeem will compete in the javelin throw event on August 5.