Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday announced a reward of Rs 25 lakh for javelin star, Kishore Jena, who became the first from the state to represent India at the Finals of the World Athletics Championships in Budapest. Jena achieved a new personal best with a throw covering a distance of 84.77 meters, highlighting his exceptional performance on the global stage.
The star Javelin thrower put up his best performance as he finished 5th in World Athletics Championships. India's Javelin sensation Neeraj Chopra won a historic gold at the World Athletics Championships. Even though Odisha’s ace athlete Kishore Jena couldn’t win a medal in the men’s javelin final at the World Athletics Championships 2023 in Budapest, he didn’t let down the Odia sports lovers.
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Displaying his career’s best performance, he finished with the fifth position. The 27-year-old achieved his best throw in his fifth attempt. He threw 84.77m. While he threw 75.70m and 82.82m in his first attempt and second attempt respectively, his third throw was a foul. In his second attempt in the final segment, Kishore displayed his career’s best performance and threw 84.77m.
Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik congratulated Jena for the feat. “Congratulate javelin thrower from Odisha, Kishore Kumar Jena on his impressive performance at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest with his personal best of 84.77 metres. Proud moment for India as three athletes were in medal contention. Wish them all the very best for future,” Patnaik said in a post on X.
This year, for the first time, three Indians finished in the top eight of an event in the World Championships. While Neeraj Chopra became the first Indian to win a gold medal, DP Manu finished at the sixth position, throwing 84.14m.
