Tokyo Olympics, women’s 100m final: Watch Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Elaine Thompson, Dina Asher-Smith live in India

If Friday’s heats are anything to go by, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics women’s 100m final on Saturday will be a blink-and-you-miss affair.

Amid the sweltering conditions at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, as many as six sprinters finished under 11 seconds.

Ivory Coast’s Marie-Josée Ta Lou was the fastest during the heats with a blistering 10.78 seconds finish. Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson Herah, the Rio 2016 champion, ran the track in 10.82 seconds while her compatriot, the legendary Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, did a 10.84 - just 0.01 seconds behind the silver medal timing at Rio.

Swiss duo Ajla del Ponte (10.91 seconds) and Mujinga Kambundji (10.95 seconds) alongside Great Britain’s Daryll Neita (10.96 seconds) also broke the 11-second barrier during the heats.

However, the final is guaranteed to be a much faster affair.

While Elaine Thompson smiled and slowed before the finish line, Fraser-Pryce reaffirmed that everyone’s best was yet to come. The Beijing 2008 and London 2012 gold medallist hardly flinched when asked if a sub 10.5 second timing was possible during her post race press conference and said, “Sure, definitely. It’s definitely a super-fast track.”

British sprint sensation Dina Asher-Smith didn’t quite light up the track as expected during the heats and clocked a modest 11.07 seconds in the heats but will be expected to step on the gas harder in the upcoming stages.

The field has already been brought down to 27 after Round 1 and only eight will progress through the semi-finals into the medal race.

The usual suspects, however, are expected to be all there.

The headline, undoubtedly, will be the 34-year-old Fraser-Pryce’s bid to take the 100m crown back from her compatriot Thompson. Fraser-Pryce was struggling with an injury at Rio and had to settle for the bronze.

While Thompson may be five years younger and is dubbed as Fraser-Pryce’s rightful successor to the crown, the latter isn’t ready to concede her title just yet.

After becoming a mother in 2017, Fraser-Pryce returned to the track with a purpose and has been in red-hot form in the build up to Tokyo.

She won the gold at the 2019 world championships and recently, in June, clocked an astonishing 10.63 second run in Kingston to become the second-fastest woman in history behind the iconic Florence Griffith-Joyner.

However, the two ace Jamaicans will have enough challenge from the likes of Ta Lou, Asher-Smith and others.

Tokyo Olympics women’s 100m final schedule, fixtures and live start times for India

All times are India Standard Times (IST)

July 31, Saturday

Women’s 100m semi-finals – 3:45 PM IST

Women’s 100m final – 6:20 PM IST

Where to watch the Tokyo Olympics women’s 100m final live in India?

Tokyo Olympics women’s 100m race will be telecast live on the Sony TEN 2, Sony TEN 2 HD, Sony SIX and Sony SIX HD TV channels in India. Sony TEN 3, Sony TEN 3 HD, Sony TEN 4 and Sony TEN 4 HD will broadcast Tokyo 2020 in regional languages.

Live streaming of the Tokyo Olympics women’s 100m final will be available on Sony Liv.

Live broadcast subject to Sony Sports Network.