Asian Games 2023 athletics: Puripol Boonson fails to finish men's 200m semis with 4x100m relay in mind
Worried about aggravating an old injury, Boonson quits his 200m semi-final to focus on the 4x100m relay.
Athletics
There was disappointment for Thailand's Puripol Boonson in his favoured 200m athletics event at the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou on Sunday evening (1 October) as the 100m silver medallist was eliminated from the 200m semi-finals.
Running in the second semi-final, Boonson took it easy out of the blocks and jogged a few metres before pulling out of the race.
Boonson, who injured himself at the Southeast Asian Games in May, has had a difficult season with his fitness, and perhaps with a bigger goal – Thailand's 4x100m men's relay – in mind.
With a possible slight recurrence of the injury, Boonson opted to protect himself from further injury, and having already clinched a medal in the 100m, he will now look to win a medal with his teammates instead of focusing on the 200m.
In Saturday night's 100m semi-finals, the 17-year-old had clocked 10.06 seconds to equal the world under-18 best.