Defending Olympic Javelin Champion India’s Neeraj Chopra qualified for the final of the event at the Paris Olympics 2024 with a season-best throw of 89.34. This is Neeraj’s second-best-ever throw after 89.94m in the Stockholm Diamond League.
Having qualified for his second successive Olympic final, Chopra stands a chance to make history. If Chopra managed to defend his title, he would become only the fifth man in Olympics history to do so and the first Indian to win two gold medals in an individual event in the multi-sporting spectacle.
Before the Olympics, Neeraj had thrown 88.36m in Doha and also won the Paavo Nurmi Games with a throw of 85.97m.
Kishore Jena suffers setback, fails to qualify for the final:
While Neeraj Chopra safely ventured into the finals, countryman Kishore Jena who was placed in Group A is unlikely to enter the final. Jena finished the qualification stage with a throw of 80.73m which is unlikely to get him a place in the final.
From Group A Kenya’s Julius Yego and Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch automatically qualified for the final with impressive throws of 85.97m and 85.63m respectively. Germany’s Julian Weber also qualified with a throw of 87.76m.
Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem, one of Chopra's closest rivals, has also sneaked into the final as he registered a season-best throw of 86.59. The India and Pakistan track and field athletes have developed a rivalry over the years, but Chopra holds the aces with a 9-0 record.
