Paris Olympics: Neeraj Chopra Storms Into Javelin Throw Final With Gigantic Effort of 89.34m

Reigning Olympic Neeraj Chopra wasted no time in sealing his place in the final of men’s javelin throw of ongoing Paris 2024 with a gigantic effort of 89.34m – his best ever attempt at the Summer Games.

Chopra was in Group B of qualification round and in his first attempt, he beat the qualification mark of 84m by 5.34m in a statement performance to begin his title defense in Paris.

Kishore Jena, the second Indian in the fray, managed a best throw of 80.73 but hasn’t qualified for the final round after dropping out of top-12.  Only those who meet the qualification mark or at least 12 best performers advance to the final.

At the Tokyo Games, Chopra had created history by becoming the first ever Indian to win an individual gold medal in a track and field event.

Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, the current Commonwealth Games champion, also qualified for the finals with a throw of 86.59m.

Should Chopra manage to claim gold in Paris, he will become just the fifth man in Olympics history to defend his title and the first Indian to win two gold medals in an individual event at the multi-sporting spectacle.

Eric Lemming (Sweden; 1908 and 1912), Jonni Myyra (Finland; 1920 and 1924), Chopra’s idol Jan Zelezny (Czech Republic; 1992, 1996 and 2000) and Andreas Thorkildsen (Norway; 2004 and 2008) are the only ones to have defended the men’s javelin gold medals in the Olympics.

The 26-year-old Chopra  last year won the gold at the world athletics championships.

He competed in just three events this year.

After finishing second in the Doha Diamond League in May with a throw of 88.36m, which is his season’s best, Chopra withdrew from Ostrava Golden Spike on May 28 as a precautionary measure after he felt “something” in his adductor (group of muscles located on inner thighs).

Chopra, who has a personal best of 89.94m, made a strong comeback by winning gold at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Finland on June 18 with a throw of 85.97m.

He later opted out of the Paris Diamond League on July 7, insisting that the event was never a part of his competition calendar this year.

His coach later dismissed concerns surrounding Chopra’s fitness, telling PTI that his adductor has no issues now and his ward has been in high intensity phase of training.

With PTI Inputs

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