Asian Games Speed climbing : Deepu Mallesh enters quarterfinals

India’s Deepu Mallesh entered the Asian Games men’s speed climbing quarterfinals after finishing 11th in qualification with a best time of 5.09 seconds. Debutant Joga Purty also reached the women’s quarterfinals but exited after a false start

Nagoya: India’s Deepu Mallesh entered the quarterfinals of the men’s speed climbing competition at the Asian Games after finishing 11th in the qualification rounds.

The 28-year-old Mallesh, who is making his Asian Games debut, clocked a best time of 5.09 seconds, which came during his climb up lane B of the four-lane, 15-metre wall.

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The 16 fastest climbers make up the four quarterfinal sets, each featuring four climbers in as many lanes.

The fastest eight from this stage move to the semifinals, at the end of which four will be left to fight for the medals in the final.

Earlier, 19-year-old Joga Purty made the women’s speed climbing quarterfinals with a ninth-place finish in the qualification rounds.

However, she had a false start in the quarterfinal and failed to advance in the competition. Deng Lijuan of China and Karin Hayashi qualified from the first quarterfinal heat.

The sport has been part of the Asian Games only since 2018 and became an Olympic event at the Tokyo 2020 edition.

India has never won a sport climbing medal at the Asian Games.