Ghana experienced contrasting fortunes on the opening day of the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo as sprinters Abdul-Rasheed Saminu and Benjamin Azamati took to the track in the men’s 100m heats.

Saminu delivered a strong performance in Heat 7, clocking 10.09s to finish second behind South Africa’s Akani Simbine (10.02s).

With the result, he secured an automatic qualification spot for Sunday’s semi-finals, underlining his rising reputation among Africa’s fastest men. Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala (10.12s) completed the top three qualifiers from that race.

Earlier in the day, Azamati faced a tougher challenge in Heat 5, where he placed sixth with a time of 10.30s. His reaction time of 0.211s—the slowest in the field—made it difficult for him to recover against strong competitors.

The race was won by Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo (10.07s), followed by Canada’s Andre De Grasse (10.16s) and the USA’s Courtney Lindsey (10.19s).

With Saminu advancing and Azamati missing out on automatic qualification, Ghana ends Day 1 with one sprinter confirmed for the semi-finals, keeping national hopes alive in the blue-ribbon event of athletics.

The semi-finals of the men’s 100m will take place on Sunday, 14 September 2025, with Saminu set to feature among the world’s elite as he bids for a place in the final.