Finance
Neeraj Chopra defended his Asian Games javelin title in a thrilling final contested by two Indians, while young star Kishore Jena took silver. The national stadium in Hangzhou witnessed India’s extraordinary rise in the sport as Neeraj and Jena competed for Gold and Silver in a 12-man field, just a day after Annu Rani won the women’s javelin Gold medal.
Kishore Jena, who shone in his first World Championships participation earlier this year in the men’s javelin event, gave Olympic and world champion Neeraj Chopra a scare in the final on Wednesday, October 4.
Due to technological difficulties, both Neeraj and Kishore were under pressure at the start of the men’s javelin final. Neeraj’s first throw was canceled owing to technological issues that caused a significant delay. Kishore Jena’s second throw was incorrectly called foul before the white flag was raised. Despite the early difficulties, both stars finished on the podium.
Kishore was leading the men’s javelin final at the halfway point, having thrown his personal best of 86.77m. He later improved with a throw of 87.54m. Jena was overjoyed, as did Neeraj, who was cheering on his teammate from the sidelines. As the Olympic winner has always said, it was a heartwarming moment as the Olympic champion has always talked up his fellow athletes and he was genuinely happy to see Jena record his personal best at the biggest stage of his nascent career.
However, Neeraj Chopra did not lose sight of the job in hand. He defended his Asian Games crown with a sensational throw of 88,88m, his season best.
