Indian Olympic Gold Medallist Neeraj Chopra qualified for the final at the World Athletics Championship with a sensational first throw of 88.39m. In what is turning out to be a great showing in Eugene, three Indian javelin throwers have qualified for the finals.
Earlier Annu Rani did the same with a throw of 59.60 in the women’s category. Now Chopra has done the same with a third career-best throw of 88.39m. He finished second overall behind championship holder Anderson Peters from Grenada. Peters with a throw of 89.91 topped Group B.
After his qualification, Chopra talked to the media and said, “It was a good start. I’ll give my 100% in the final. We’ll see. Every day is different. I’ll just give my best. We don’t know who can throw far on any given day.”
“There is a little bit of zigzag in my run-up. I shook a little bit, but it was a good throw. There are so many throwers in good shape now. Five-six throwers have thrown PBs this year. They are all in excellent shape, added Chopra.
Chopra having breached the qualification mark on his first throw itself did not need to take the other two throws as he was automatically qualified for the final.
Two Indians in the final
Rohit Yadav was another Indian javelin thrower who qualified for the final with a throw of 80.42m. The 21-year-old came 11th in the qualification and was promoted as 12 best go into the final round. Yadav with a personal best of 82.54m won silver at the National Inter-State Championship in June.
Chopra who has a personal best of 89.94m is the favourite for this year’s tournament. He has had a poor showing in the 2017 London World Championship as could not manage to get into the finals with an 82.26m throw. Two years later, an elbow injury ruled him out of the 2019 Doha World Championship. The 2022 World Athletics Championship in Oregon is the best chance for the Olympic medal holder to win another world event. The Javelin final at the World Championship is scheduled to be held on July 23 at 6:05 AM IST.
