Neeraj Chopra | file photo
Neeraj Chopra won his first gold medal of the season as he defeated Andersen Peters of Granada at the Kuorten Games in Finland. His first throw of 86.69 meters proved to be the winning distance.
Chopra also escaped with an injury scare as he fell in an awkward position during one of his attempts. The runway looked slippery and Chopra lost her balance after the throw. He quickly got back up, and there was no damage.
2012 Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago was second with a first-round throw of 86.64m. Peters was third with a best throw of 84.75m, which also came in the first round.
Chopra’s second and third attempts were fouls and made only three throws. This means Chopra had only one legal throw and won the competition with it.
His throw was not as big as an effort of 89.30m while finishing second in a star-studded field at the Pavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland, but the win would certainly boost his confidence ahead of the Stockholm Diamond League on June 30 .
Finland’s Oliver Hellender, who won the javelin throw in Turku with an effort of 89.83m, did not come despite registering his name.
Reigning Asian and world para javelin champion Sandeep Choudhary, who was also training with Chopra at the Cuortaine Olympic Training Centre, also participated in the competition and finished eighth with a best throw of 60.35m.
Peters has been leading the charts this season with his monster throw of 93.07m, winning gold at the Doha Diamond League last month. Chopra’s effort of 89.30m in Turku is the fifth best effort of the season.
Chopra made a stellar return to the competition after her historic gold at the Tokyo Olympics, breaking her own national record with an impressive throw of 89.30m, which placed her second in a star-studded field at the Pavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland . Tuesday
Chopra’s first competitive event after more than 10 months was nothing short of extraordinary as she nearly touched the 90m mark, which is considered the gold standard in the world of javelin throw.
Chopra’s earlier national record was 88.07m which he had set in March last year in Patiala. He won the Tokyo Olympic gold medal on August 7, 2021 with a throw of 87.58m.
(Inputs PTI)