Paris Olympics 2024: Parul Chaudhary and Ankita Dhyani miss women's 5000m final by narrow margins

In a competitive showing at the Paris Olympics, Indian athletes Parul Chaudhary and Ankita Dhyani narrowly missed qualifying for the final round of the women's 5000m race on Friday.

In a competitive showing at the Paris Olympics 2024, Indian athletes Parul Chaudhary and Ankita Dhyani narrowly missed qualifying for the final round of the women's 5000m race on Friday.

Chaudhary, who holds the national record of 15 minutes 10.35 seconds, clocked a time of 15:10.68, finishing 14th in heat one and securing an overall 24th position. Ankita, on the other hand, ended at the 20th and last position in heat one, placing her 40th overall.

The reigning Olympic 1500m champion, Faith Kipyegon of Kenya, topped the qualification round with a time of 14:57.56. She was closely followed by Tokyo Games gold medallist Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands, who clocked 14:57.65. The current 5000m world record holder, Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia, finished fifth overall with a time of 14:57.84.

Only the top 16 athletes, comprising the first eight finishers in each of the two heats, advanced to the final round. Despite Chaudhary's commendable effort, she fell short by a fraction of a second from her national record and was unable to secure a spot in the final. Ankita also faced a tough competition, finishing at the bottom of her heat.

Chaudhary, who is also competing in the 3000m steeplechase event, will run in the heat races on Sunday. She qualified for the 5000m race through the world ranking quota, as she could not meet the direct entry time of 14:52.00. Similarly, Ankita made the cut for the Olympics at the last minute through the world ranking quota.