Two young guns from Hry light up India s Oly show at Tokyo daijiworld.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from daijiworld.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Tokyo 2020, men’s javelin: Happy with first throw but final will be different, says Neeraj Chopra
The 23-year-old Chopra became the first Indian javelin thrower to enter the finals of the Games top his qualification Group. File image of Neeraj Chopra | Special arrangement
Into the finals with a “perfect throw”, trailblazing javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra on Wednesday said he will need the same performance with a higher score to be in contention for India’s maiden track-and-field medal at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
The 23-year-old Chopra became the first Indian javelin thrower to enter the finals of the Games with a big throw of 86.65m that put him on the top of the Group A qualification.
Tokyo 2020, men’s javelin: Neeraj Chopra into the final with one attempt, Shivpal Singh misses out
The 23-year-old took just a few seconds to make to the final with a stunning throw of 86.65m on his first attempt that put him on the top of the charts. REUTERS/Aleksandra Szmigiel
Star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra kept India’s hopes of an elusive track and field medal alive by earning a direct qualification into the finals with a stunning throw of 86.65m on his first attempt that put him on the top of the charts at Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday.
However, Shivpal Singh, the other Indian in the fray bowed out in the qualification stage, not crossing the 80 mark even once in three throws.
Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra tops qualification with a throw of 86.65 metres
By IANS |
0 Views
Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra tops qualification with a throw of 86.65 metres. Image Source: IANS News
Tokyo, Aug 4 : Star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra raised India s hopes of a track and field medal when he qualified for the final at the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday, sealing a top place from his group, and finishing ahead of Germany s Johannes Vetter, who is tipped as the favourite for gold at the quadrennial showpiece.
At the Olympic Stadium, the 23-year-old Chopra, the junior world champion, cleared the automatic qualifying mark of 83.50 metres with his first attempt of 86.65 metres in Group A to emerge a strong contender for a medal in the final to be held on Saturday.
However, Shivpal Singh, failed to make the final cut with a below-par best throw of 76.40m, which he came up in his first attempt, to finish a lowly 12th in the Group B qualification which featured 16 athletes.
Chopra s performance will go down as one of the best performances by an Indian in the Olympics, as he finished ahead of gold medal favourite and 2017 world champion Johannes Vetter of Germany.
Vetter, who had earlier said that Chopra will find it tough to beat him in the Olympics, struggled in his first two throws before crossing the automatic qualification mark with a 85.64m final throw.