London Olympics 2012: Sudha fails to make final cut in 3000m steeplechase

London: India`s Sudha Singh crashed out of the London Olympics after failing to qualify for the final of the women`s 3000m steeplechase event, finishing a lowly 13th out of 15 runners in the first heat on Saturday.

Sudha, a gold medal winner in the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, clocked 9:48.86s, way below her personal best timing of 9:47.70s set in the Iberoamericano International athletic meet at Huelva, Spain in June this year. Sudha also booked her ticket to London in the Huelva meet after attaining the Olympic `B` qualification standard of 9:48.00s. Sudha also booked her ticket to London in the Huelva meet after attaining the Olympic `B` qualification standard of 9:48.00s. The top four runners from the first heat qualified for Monday`s final with Gesa Felicitas Krause of Germany, winning the race with a personal best timing of 9:24.91s. The other three runners to qualify from first heat are Eithopia`s Etenesh Diro (9:25.31s), Milcah Chemos Cheywa of Kenya (9:27.09s) and Latvia`s Polina Jelizarova (9:27.21s). PTI