Finance
Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra of India won a historic first gold medal for India in the men’s javelin throw discipline at the World Athletics Championships on Sunday.
Chopra, who has been hampered by an injury in recent months, destroyed the competition in Budapest with a tremendous throw of 88.17 in his second turn.
Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan won the silver medal, his country’s first World Championship gold, with a distance of 87.82, while Czech Republic’s Yakub Vadlejch retained the bronze medal he won in Oregon previous year with a distance of 86.67.
Kishore Kumar Jena finished fifth with a personal best throw of 84.77, while D.P. Manu finished sixth with 84.14.
But India had the most faith in Neeraj Chopra, and the 25-year-old from Haryana did not disappoint, coming up with a brilliant throw on his second turn to win his maiden World Championship gold.
Prior to Sunday, no Indian male or female had won a World Championship gold medal, with Anju Bobby George taking bronze in the women’s long jump in Paris in 2003 and Neeraj Chopra taking silver in Oregon, US, last year.
Chopra, who normally tries to start with a large first throw and had done so in qualifying with a remarkable 88.77 metre, started with a foul on his first try on Sunday.
But his second throw catapulted him to the top of the standings, as the 25-year-old Haryana Olympic gold medalist threw the spear to 88.17 to seize the lead.
Julian Weber of Germany finished second with an 85.79m throw on his second attempt, while Yakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic finished third with an 84.18m throw on his second attempt.
Chopra could only manage 86.32 metres on his third attempt, but Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem came into the mix with a fantastic throw of 87.82 metres on his third turn.
Nadeem, who underwent shoulder surgery earlier this year due to an injury, began with a modest loosener of 74.90m, followed by 82.81m, and then unleashed a rip-roaring 87.82m on his third turn, a season-best for the Pakistan thrower.
D.P. Manu of India finished fifth with his best effort of the first half of the competition, 83.72m in his third attempt, while Kishore Kumar Jena finished seventh with 82.82m in his second attempt.
Chopra managed just an 84.62m throw in his fourth attempt, while Nadeem managed 87.15m and Julian Weber of Germany maintained third place with an 85.7 attempt.
Arshad Nadem made a final attempt in the sixth round with a massive one, but it fell short, and Chopra won the gold medal.
So far in 2023, Neeraj Chopra has competed in only two competitions, with the 88.67m at the Doha Diamond League being his best for the season.
Source:IANS
