Tokyo Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra gave another sterling performance on Saturday as he clinched gold in the 2022 Kuortane Games in Finland.
Chopra’s first throw, measuring 86.69m, was enough for him to clinch the top spot on the podium under tricky and wet conditions.
The 24-year-old Chopra set the pace of the competition early, taking the lead after the first round of throws with an 86.69m attempt — 0.05m more than Walcott. He failed to log legitimate attempts with his next two throws and suffered a nasty fall during his third attempt.
Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad settled for silver with a throw of 86.64m while Anderson Peters claimed bronze with a throw of 84.75m. India’s Sandeep Chaudhury was eighth in the standings with a throw of 60.35m.
Meanwhile, Neeraj’s compatriot Sandeep Chaudhary, a Paralympian finished eighth with 60.35m.
Earlier this month, Neeraj took part at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Finland and won silver while setting a new national record with a throw of 89.30m.
It was Neeraj’s first competitive event after just over 10 months and was nothing short of extraordinary as he nearly touched the coveted 90m mark, considered the gold standard in the world of javelin throw.
Chopra’s earlier national record was 88.07m which he had set in Patiala in March last year. He had won the Tokyo Olympics gold with a throw of 87.58m on August 7, 2021.
Chopra is scheduled to travel to Sweden next for the Stockholm leg of the Diamond League before next month’s engagements at the World Athletics Championships in the US and the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham.
