Sprinter Priya fails to go under 12sec
Teenage sprinter fails to go below 12sec at U-20 Worlds
She was tipped to become only the second Singaporean woman to go under 12 seconds in the 100m dash.
But it was not to be for teenage sprinter C Kugapriya, who was some way off her personal best of 12.09sec when she clocked 12.30 at the IAAF World Under-20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland, last night.
The 18-year-old, who has set two personal bests this year, finished seventh out of eight sprinters in her heat and failed to qualify for the semi-finals today.
"Of course, I'm disappointed," the ITE College West student told The New Paper in a phone interview.
"I felt really good during the warm-up, but my start wasn't good.
"I guess it was just not my day."
Her coach, Margaret Oh, however, sounded more positive .
The former national runner said: "Disappointed? Not really.
"It's part and parcel of competition. You can't expect everyday to be Sunday.
"Maybe there was a bit of pressure too, because she had people texting her good luck and (willing her) to go under 12 seconds."
Oh is confident that her young protege will emulate national sprint queen Veronica Shanti Pereira and clock a sub-12sec time in the near future.
"For sure... I'm confident she'll do it," said Oh.
Pereira, 19, became the first local woman to go under 12 seconds in the century sprint when she clocked 11.89 at the IAAF World Youth Athletics Championships in Donetsk, Ukraine, in 2013, smashing the national record of 12.01 set by Amanda Choo three years earlier.
Pereira has since lowered her national record to 11.80.
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