Injured Dipna pulls out of Glasgow Games

She had set herself two targets at the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland. One was to beat her personal best of 24.36sec in the 200m event.

The other was to set a new national record in the women's 4x100m women's relay event.

However, national sprinter Dipna Lim-Prasad will now play no part in the quadrennial event from July 23 to Aug 3, due to an injury to her left leg.

The 23-year-old strained her quadricep tendon during training a month ago.

Although she was tipped to recover in time for the Games, she has decided to rest her body and concentrate on the Asian Games in Incheon (September) and the SEA Games which will be held on home soil (next June) after discussions with her coach Viatcheslav Vassiliev and the Singapore Athletic Association.

She will be replaced by 19-year-old Tyra Summer Ree.

"Although I would recover just in time for the Commonwealth Games, I may risk injuring it again by pushing too hard so soon after recovery," Lim-Prasad told The Straits Times.

"I'm disappointed at missing out on my first Commonwealth Games but this decision is the better one for my career."

Echoing that view was her coach who said: "It is dangerous for her career if she takes part and gets injured again."

His recommendation is that "she rests well and prepares for the Asian Games and SEA Games, which will be important for her".

terong@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on July 16, 2014.
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