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.
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.
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All eyes will be on Chopra on Saturday’s final as he is on a roll this season and is the owner of the national record — 88.07m — which he achieved at the Indian Grand Prix in March.
Germany’s Vetter was second in the Group A with 85.64m, taking all three attempts before he could make the cut.
In javelin throw, an athlete can make the final by either attaining the qualifying standard or by finishing among the top-12 competitors in the event.
India’s other javelin thrower Shivpal Singh came up with below-par throws and attained his best of 76.40 in his first attempt to finish 12th in Group B and failed to qualify. His other two attempts were 74.80 and 74.81 metres respectively.
Following the conclusion of the qualification round, where 12 throwers qualified – seven from Group A and five from Group B – Chopra’s performance stood out as, despite missing almost the entire 2020 due to injuries, he has come back strongly to be in contention for a medal on Saturday.
At Tokyo 2020, Chopra will be up against favourites Johannes Vetter, Chinese Taipei’s Chao-Tsun Cheng, Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago and world champion Kenya’s Julius Yego.
