Malayali lad breaks own national record at World U20 Athletics, finishes eighth in final

Mohammed Ashfaq achieved eighth place in the men’s 400m final at the World Athletics U20 Championships.

He broke his own national U20 record with a time of 45.81 seconds in the heats.

Despite a strong performance in the heats and semi-finals, Ashfaq was unable to replicate his record-breaking pace in the final.

Malayali youngster Mohammed Ashfaq finished eighth in the men’s 400m final at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Eugene, USA, after breaking his own national U20 record in the heats.

The 19-year-old from Thrissur clocked 46.20 seconds in the final held on Saturday, unable to replicate the record-breaking performance that had taken him to the medal race.

Ashfaq had clocked 45.81 seconds to finish second behind USA’s Jayden DeLeon (45.63s) in Heat 5 of the first round, recording the fourth-fastest time overall.

His effort also bettered his previous national U20 record of 46.05 seconds, set in April earlier this season.

Ashfaq followed it up with another impressive 46-second run in the semifinals to qualify for the final.

However, he could not produce his best in the title race and had to settle for eighth place.

DeLeon won the gold medal with a championship-winning time of 44.47 seconds, while fellow American Quincy Wilson took silver in 44.62 seconds. South Africa’s Leendert Koekemoer completed the podium with a time of 44.96 seconds.