NURAFIQAH HJ ROZAINI narrowly missed out on a spot in the final of the girls' 100 metres race at the Asian Youth Games in Singapore after clocking 13.29 seconds in the heats on Tuesday.

Twenty-two athletes were divided into three heats, with the top two in every heat advancing to the final.

Grouped in Heat 2, the 15-year-old Nurafiqah was just a second away from qualifying despite finishing fifth in the race.

South Korea's Lee Sunae won the heat after crossing the line at 12.00s, followed by China's He Jiawen at 12.21s. Vietnam's Tran Thi Hang and Uzbekistan's Olga Glukhovkina finished third and fourth after clocking 12.75s and 12.98s respectively.

The four other finalists are Kimura Akane of Japan (12.14s) and Liao Ching-Hsien of Chinese Taipei (12.42s) from Heat 1 and Mahanta Ranjita of India (12.45s) and Thailand's Kumklieng Gedsuda (12.52s) from Heat 3.

Awarded the 'Best Female Athlete' of the recently-concluded 2009 Youth Sports Festival after she won the 100m, 200m and 400m races and finishing second in the 4x 400m race, Nurafiqah will no doubt be disappointed that she could not maintain her winning ways in Singapore especially since she could not better the time she clocked at the Youth Sports Festival.

The Tutong native crossed the line at 12.69s to win the 100m girls' race at the Youth Sports Festival.

The country's only other hope for a medal at the Asian Youth Games, 2009 Arafura Games silver-medallist Amanda Liew Jia Xin, is set to compete in the girls' 100m breaststroke tomorrow.

According to the Asian Youth Games' website, the heats for the 100m breaststroke event will take place tomorrow morning, with the semi-finals to be contested in the evening.

The final will be held on Saturday evening at the Singapore Sports School.

Brunei's five-member contingent to the first edition of the Games is made up of two athletes, two coaches and the chef de mission, Pg Anak Md Sofian Pg Anak Hj Ibrahim.

The Asian Youth Games to be held once every four years feature athletes between the ages of 14 and 18.

Some 42 Asian countries are participating in 10 sports in Singapore; athletics, swimming, shooting, table tennis, sailing, basketball, beach volleyball, diving, football and bowling. (JT04)

Courtesy from Brunei Times