Dina Asher-Smith's chance to win world 200m gold boosted as rivals drop out
GB's Adam Gemili into 200m final with season's best of 20.03s; Sky Scholar Andrew Pozzi into 110m hurdles semis
By Husmukh Kerai
Last Updated: 01/10/19 7:13am
Dina Asher-Smith's chances of World Championships gold continued to grow after a raft of rivals pulled out of the 200m - as Adam Gemili kept his medal hopes alive.
Four-time European champion Asher-Smith claimed 100m silver on Sunday in the first part of her treble medal bid and breezed into the 200m semi-finals on Monday, winning her heat in 22.32s.
Defending champion Dafne Schippers has withdrawn from the Championships with an adductor problem and the Ivory Coast's Marie-Josee Ta Lou, who won 100m bronze, is also out injured.
New 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce will not run while Nigeria's Blessing Okagbare was disqualified for stepping out of her lane in heat five on Monday.
Asher-Smith broke her own 100m British record to set 10.83 seconds and win her first individual global medal in Doha but the 23-year-old insisted there was no release of pressure.
"I wouldn't call it a relief. I don't think about it like that, I'm not a negative person," said Asher-Smith, who ran 22.32s in her 200m heat.
"I'm just proud of myself, I've definitely taken my time and worked my way up from being a relay runner and then through Beijing through London and the broken foot.
"It's just been a lot of hard work that I'm proud. We've got more goals to go through the week. I've never really got nervous, not since 2013 but I definitely get adrenaline which is good.
"That means it's all within my control. But no I wasn't nervous because I knew that I had it within me."
Beth Dobbin also reached the semi-finals after coming third in heat six in 23.14s.
Gemili into men's 200m final, Hughes and Francis out
Great Britain's Adam Gemili clocked 20.03 seconds to win the opening men's 200m semi and qualify for the final.
But Britain's Zharnel Hughes missed out on a place in the 200m final.
In the concluding semi, Hughes finished third with a time of 20.30s, but it was not enough to see him join Gemili in the final.
Miguel Francis was forced to pull out after suffering a quad strain in Sunday's heats.
Noah Lyles clocked the top time in the 200 metres semi-finals on Monday, signalling the American is the man to beat for world championship gold.
Sky Scholar Pozzi into 110m hurdles semis, Roberts DQ'd
Sky Sports Scholar Andrew Pozzi progressed through his 110m hurdle heat with a time of 13.53s after a false start saw Haiti's Jeffrey Julmis eliminated from the event.
American Daniel Roberts, who has recorded the second-fastest time of the year, was disqualified for knocking down a rival's hurdle in the heats.
However, the US champion has not completely given up on his medal chances as he was confident the American team would protest the decision.
Edris retains 5,000m title
Ethiopia's Muktar Edris won a thrilling battle over the last 200m to retain his title in the 5,000m.
The 25-year-old, roared on by a noisy contingent of flag-waving Ethiopian fans in the crowd, outsprinted compatriot Selemon Barega to win in 12 minutes 58.85s.
It was the first 5,000 world championship final since 2005 not to feature Britain's Mo Farah who has won the title three times.
Kenya's Chepkoech takes steeplechase; Uganda's Nakaayi wins 800m
Kenya's Beatrice Chepkoech stayed on course and won the women's steeplechase in a breeze, while Uganda's Halimah Nakaayi used a late kick to take the 800-meter race being run without Caster Semenya.
Chepkoech finished the steeplechase in a world-championship record time of 8 minutes, 57.84s to beat the American defending champion, Emma Coburn, by more than 4.5s.
In the 800m, Nakaayi finished in 1:58.04 to beat the American duo of Raevyn Rogers and Ajee Wilson.
The race was run without the defending champion, Semenya, who has refused to follow new IAAF rules requiring her to medically reduce her natural testosterone level. Semenya's winning time in 2017 was 1:55.16.
