Neeraj Chopra wins gold in the Kuortane Games
Neeraj Chopra, an Olympic champion, won gold in the javelin throw in the rain-soaked Kuortane Games in Turku, Finland, on June 18 with a throw of 86.69 metres.
Ace in the javelin On Saturday, Neeraj Chopra won the gold medal in the Kuortane Games in Finland, throwing 86.69 metres on his first attempt. He finished ahead of Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada's Anderson Peters, the global champion. Chopra, who just set a new national record, got off to a fast start with an 86.69m throw, which was enough to beat out his opponents. He made two foul shots before opting out of the final three. This was only his second competition since winning a gold medal in athletics in the Tokyo Olympics, making him the first Indian to do so.
Highlights
Neeraj Chopra won gold in the Javelin throw in Finland, on June 18, 2022 with a throw of 86.69 metres.
Chopra had won silver in the Paavo Nurmi Games, earlier in the week, breaking his own national record with a throw of 89.30 metres.
Chopra will compete in the Diamond League's Stockholm leg on June 30.
Match Overview
Chopra's throw outperformed that of his competitors, including former world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada and renowned javelin thrower Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago.
Walcott came in second with an 86.64m throw, while Peters came in third with an 84.75m best effort.
Sandeep Chaudhary, the reigning Asian and world para javelin champion, who was also trained at the Kuortane Olympic Training Centre alongside Chopra, competed in the event and finished eighth with a best throw of 60.35m.
Chopra got off to a good start in the rain, but his second throw was an intentional foul. He then suffered a horrible slip while going for his third throw, and he didn't throw again after that.
Chopra had won silver in the Paavo Nurmi Games earlier in the week, breaking his own national record with a throw of 89.30 metres.
His previous national record was 88.07 metres, which he set in Patiala last March.
Oliver Helander of Finland, who won gold at the Paavo Nurmi Games with a leap of 89.83 metres, failed not show up on Saturday despite his name being submitted.
Chopra won the title just ten months after being the first Indian javelin thrower to win an Olympic gold medal, clocking 87.58 metres at the Tokyo Olympics.
The 24-year-old surpassed his personal record with an 89.30m throw at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku earlier this week, earning him the silver medal.
Chopra will compete in the Diamond League's Stockholm leg on June 30.
