India’s Neeraj Chopra qualified for the men’s javelin throw final at World Athletics Championships, being held in Eugene, Oregon, with an effort of 88.39m. The Olympic champion sealed his spot in the final with his first throw in the qualification round. Chopra was in Pool A of the qualification round and the first to throw, and the 24-year-old wrapped it up early for himself. He will now compete in the final, which is set to be held on Sunday early morning (IST).
The automatic qualifying mark in javelin throw for the World Championships final was 83.50m.
Chopra had set a new national record of 89.94m, just 6cm shy of the 90m mark, the gold standard in the world of javelin throw, at the prestigious Diamond League in Stockholm last month en route to a silver medal. The 24-year-old finished second behind Grenada’s Anderson Peters, who recorded a best throw of 90.31m.
“I was 6cm short of the 90m mark, I was pretty close. I hope to cross 90m this year. But I never think or focus on distance going into a competition. I just try to give my 100 per cent,” Chopra said in a virtual interaction from Eugene recently.
Chopra is cherishing phenomenal results this season. The star athlete has improved his personal best twice — he recorded a 89.30m throw on June 14 at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Finland before sending his spear to 89.94m last month.
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In between, he had won the javelin throw event at Kuortane Games in Finland with a throw of 86.69m under wet and slippery conditions. Given the form he is in, the Tokyo Olympic Champion is expected to script history and become only the second Indian and first male player from the country to win a medal in the World Athletics Championships.
“It is the biggest competition of this year for me. I want to perform without any pressure. It is the biggest stage, the competition will be very tough. There are 5-6 throwers who are performing consistently so the level is similar this year,” Chopra said. “But every day, every competition is different. My focus is just on one thing — to throw as big as possible.”
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