Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra aced the Federation Cup 2024 championship in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, as he clinched gold in his first javelin throw competition on Indian soil in three years. Neeraj Chopra, who recently finished second at the Doha Diamond League, started on a slow note in Bhubaneswar but took the lead in the fourth round with an 82.27-meter throw.
DP Manu, who was representing Karnataka in the championship, came close second with an 82.06-meter effort, winning the silver medal, while Uttam Balasaheb Patil of Maharashtra clinched the bronze medal with a throw of 78.39 meters.
Asian Games silver medalist Kishore Jena, who emerged as India’s second-best javelin thrower at the tournament, didn’t perform up to expectations. He was ranked fifth with a disappointing 75.49-meter throw. This was considerably poor, considering his Asian Games 2023 throw of 87.54 meters, which also earned him a ticket to the Paris Olympics 2024.
Neeraj Chopra’s presence at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar prompted the organisers to tighten the security arrangements as many people turned up to watch the spectacle. “People wanted to come to meet me, and they were being stopped. I was not feeling good. Earlier, I was meeting a lot of people, and they were allowed to come and meet me,” Neeraj Chopra said after winning his competition.
“On the other hand, we (athletes) have to be in a different mindset and be serious during a competition. There is also a risk factor (of injury) if a lot of people come on the field,” he added.
‘India can surpass Tokyo Olympics medal tally in Paris’
Athletics Federation of India (AFI) president Adille Sumariwalla on Tuesday sounded very optimistic about the upcoming Paris Olympics 2024 and said that India could easily surpass the Tokyo Olympics medal tally in the upcoming event. “We can no doubt perform better in the Paris Olympics than in Tokyo. We can win more medals in Paris,” Sumariwalla said in a press conference.
“I had never in the past given any prediction of any event in which we could win a medal. But, if our athletes performed their best (betters their personal best) in many events, we can win medals or finish in the top four,” the senior official added.
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Published: 15 May 2024, 10:41 PM IST