Amongst the number of key events in the afternoon session of the ongoing 2015 World Championships in athletics at the Bird's Nest in Beijing, it is the men's 200m semifinal and the 400m final, which is going to be watched with keen interest. While, in the women's arena, the gold medal race for the 3000m steeplechase should be an interesting affair, in absence of defending champion, Milcah Chemos.
Men's 200m Semi Final
Top contenders such as Usain Bolt and Justin Gatlin are only going to come up with their best in the finals of the competition, which was clear with their timings of 20.28 seconds and 20.19s respectively during the 200m heats of the 2015 World Championships on Tuesday.
Their timings were enough to guarantee a berth in the semifinals of the 200m, which takes shape on Wednesday.
However, it was Turkey's Ramil Guliyev, who had the best timings in the heats with 20.01s. Guliyev even bettered his personal best, which earlier stood at 20.04s. Panama's Alonso Edward, who has been impressive this season with a best time of 19.90s, clocked 20.11 during the heats.
All the above mentioned athletes are expected to make it to the finals of the 200m event, which is once again expected to be a close fight between Bolt and Gatlin, like the 100m clash, where the Jamaican turned triumphant.
Men's 200m semifinal schedule
Time: 8:30pm local time (6pm IST, 1:30pm BST, 8:30am ET)
Venue – Bird's Nest, Beijing
Men's 400m Final
The final of the men's 400m comprises of eight runners, and the US' LaShawn Merritt, who is the defending champion, has his work cut out as he will face some stiff competition from other top athletes on Wednesday.
Kirani James, the Olympic champion, will be the one to watch, while Botswana's Isaac Makwala, who was the fastest in the semifinals, clocking 44.11s, is another one of the favourites for the gold medal. Makwala has been very impressive in the season as he has clocked his personal best as well with a run of 43.72s, which also happens to be the fastest timing so far in the season.
South African Wayde Van Niekerk, who has also been inspiring during the season, will provide a huge challenge to other athletes in the fray. Van Niekerk qualified for the finals with a timing of 44.31s, while Merritt ran at 44.34s.
400m final schedule
Time: 9:25pm local time (6:55pm IST, 2:25pm BST, 9:25am ET)
Venue – Bird's Nest, Beijing
Women's 3000m Steeplechase Final
The women's 3000m steeplechase final in the last edition of the world championships in Moscow saw African nations dominating the event with Kenya's Milcah Chemos and Lydiah Chepkurui finishing with a gold and silver medal respectively, while Ethopia's Sofia Assefa won bronze.
But, it could be different in Beijing, with both the Kenyans mentioned above missing from the competition.
Habiba Ghribi from Tunisia was the fastest in the heats with a timings 9m:24.38s. However, it is no surprise to witness the Tunisian athlete start the event on such a bright note as she has been the best performer in the event with season's best of 9m:11.28s.
Though Sofia Assefa might be looked upon as a serious contender, her form during the season has not been good as the Ethopian's best has been 9m:23.04s, which is not anywhere close for a medal finish.
However, the event will not only include runners from African nations as three US runners have also made it to the finals.
Lalita Babar, who will be India's representative in the event, broke the national record during the heats with a timing of 9m:27.86s, which helped her qualify for the prestigious final as well.
Women's 3000m steeplechase final schedule
Time: 9pm local time (6:30pm IST, 2pm BST, 9:30am ET)
Venue – Bird's Nest, Beijing
Where to Watch – Live Streaming and TV Information
Viewers in Indiacan watch the Men's 200m semi final, Men's 400m Final and Women's 3000m steeplechase on Star Sports 2/HD, with the live streaming option on Starsports.com.
Viewers in the US can watch 200m semi final, Men's 400m Final and Women's 3000m steeplechase on NBC Sports and Universal Sports with live streaming on NBC Sports Live Extra and Universal Sports.com.
UK viewers can watch 200m semi final, Men's 400m Final and Women's 3000m steeplechase on BBC andBritish Eurosport with an option of going online on BBCiPlayer and British Eurosport player.
International viewers can stream it live here.
Live updates of the entire event can be followed on the IAFF official website.
