Neeraj Chopra, an Indian javelin champion, exceeded expectations by taking home the gold medal in the Asian Games, while Kishore Kumar Jena, another Indian, brought home the silver.
Indian sportsmen delivered a powerful display at the Hangzhou Olympic Stadium on Wednesday, with javelin superstar Neeraj Chopra winning the gold medal at the Asian Games and fellow countryman Kishore Kumar Jena taking home the silver. At the continental competition, Neeraj Chopra made history while defending his championship. As the two Indians stole the show, the event was keenly viewed on TVs across the nation. Two Indian competitors competed head-to-head, but Neeraj won with his best throw of the season at 88.88 metres.
Jena also demonstrated his tenacity.
‘Golden Boy’ Neeraj made his entrance inside Hangzhou Stadium to thunderous cheers from the crowd. However, Neeraj had to wait to find out the distance.
Neeraj’s initial throw appeared to be around 89 metres after a strange 15-minute pause and discussion. Unfortunately, no recording of it exists.
Neeraj did not surpass the 85-level threshold on his subsequent throw, which was also his first official. At 82.38 minutes, it came to a close. But the famous athlete, who has a sizable fan base in India, made an incredible return. In his second effort at Games, he outperformed his previous score.
The third effort by Neeraj was ruled to be illegal. Two Indian athletes were vying for the top spot in a close race. Jena made a respectable attempt, measuring 81.26 metres; however, he made a mistake with his foot placement and recorded a shorter throw, measuring 79.96 metres.
Jena passed Neeraj for first place thanks to an incredible toss on the third try. With 86.77m, he set a new personal best. Jena qualified for the summer games by exceeding the 85.50m qualifying standard for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Neeraj made an incredible comeback with a thunderous throw on his fourth try. It was his best throw of the season, travelling 88.88 metres.
The “Golden Boy” roared loudly as he rhythmically threw the javelin into the air.
In his fourth throw, Jena recorded a score of 87.54 metres, setting a new personal best.
Neeraj’s fifth effort came in at 80.80m. Neeraj won the gold medal after five rounds of throwing (88.88m), with Jena coming in second (87.54m).
In the sixth attempt, neither athlete was able to improve upon their score, and they became the event’s gold and silver medalists.
Neeraj Chopra has had an incredible five years since winning the gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta. He is now the World and Olympic Champion. The global javelin championship was won by Neeraj in Budapest earlier this year.
It was announced on Tuesday that Pakistani javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem had withdrew from the competition owing to a persistent knee issue, hence the much-anticipated Neeraj Chopra vs. Arshad Nadeem duel could not take place in Hangzhou.
