Defending Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra showcased his prowess in the javelin throw qualification at the Paris 2024 Olympics, securing his place in the final with an impressive performance on Tuesday.
Competing at the Stade de France, Chopra delivered a remarkable 89.34m throw on his initial attempt, well above the direct qualification standard of 84m. This mark is the second-best of his career. Just shy of his personal best of 89.94m set at the Stockholm Diamond League in 2022, which also stands as the national record for India.
This throw also represented Chopra’s season-best, surpassing his previous 88.36m effort at the Doha Diamond League in May.
The javelin throw final will take place on August 8 at the same venue. Chopra, who clinched gold with an 87.58m throw at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, is competing in his second Olympic Games.
Chopra is anticipated to face strong competition in the final from Germany’s Julian Weber. Who achieved a direct qualification with an 87.76m throw, surpassing Chopra’s Tokyo winning throw by 18cm. Two-time world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada also qualified with a notable 88.63m throw. Czechia’s Jakub Vadljech, who narrowly edged Chopra in Doha, qualified with an 85.63m throw and won silver in Tokyo with 86.67m. Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, the reigning Commonwealth champion, made the final with an 86.59m throw. Finishing second to Chopra at the 2023 World Championships.
However, India’s Kishore Jena did not advance to the final. Competing in Group A, Jena’s best throw was 80.73m. With second throw invalidated and final attempt of 80.21m, placing him ninth in his heat and outside the qualification spots.
In other news, quartermiler Kiran Pahal finished last in her repechage heat of the women’s 400m with a time of 52.59 seconds, failing to progress to the semi-finals. Earlier, she had finished seventh in her round-1 heat with a time of 52.51 seconds, advancing to the repechage round.
The top three athletes from each round 1 heat will determine the semi-finalists in the women’s 400m. Along with the repechage round heat winners and the two fastest runners beyond them.
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