Bhubaneswar (Odisha): India's golden boy Neeraj Chopra bagged a gold medal on his return to the Federation Cup, with a best throw of 82.27m at the Kalinga Stadium here in Odisha on Wednesday.
He made four throws, three of them legal, and all of them hovered between 81m and 82m while his best effort was 21cm better than DP Manu's best 82.06m. Manu won the silver medal with the best throw of 82.06m, which came on his first attempt, while Uttam Patil won the bronze medal with a best throw of 78.39m.
Meanwhile, Asian Games medallist Kishore Kumar Jena finished fifth with his best throw of 75.25m. Manu took an initial lead on his first attempt with a throw of 82.06 from Neeraj who threw 82.00m on his first attempt. DP Manu got a distance of 77.23 in his second attempt.
Having ended 2023 spectacularly at the World Championships and the Asian Games, Jena has not yet crossed 80m in nine attempted throws in competitive action this year. Here, he finished fifth with a best effort of 75.49m, well behind the 78.39m mark that Maharashtra's Uttam Patil set to take the bronze medal. Manu was the one for whom this competition held a lot of significance, as he continued to chase the elusive 85.50m mark that would guarantee him qualification for the Paris Olympics. However, once again, he fell short.
Following his gold medal victory, Indian Olympic and World Championships gold medalist Neeraj Chopra expressed that it was nice to compete in India after a long time and to witness such a large group of people supporting him.
Speaking at the press conference after the competition, Neeraj said, "The competition was very good. The weather was hot. I had come from Doha. It took a lot of time to recover and travel. That is why I took only four throws because I have to compete once again in 10-12 days. I felt really good playing here, as I was playing in India after a long time and it was good to see many people come here to support us."
Speaking about the Paris Olympics 2024, to take place from July 26 to August 11 this year, Neeraj said that everyone in the contingent is well-prepared this time around and is performing well.
"The Paris Olympics will be tough. This time, everyone is well-prepared. Everyone is throwing and competing really well, including in Doha (Diamond League). We have two-three competitions before the Olympics so we will try to perform better in them. All we want is the growth of javelin throwing and athletics in India," he said.
"If you talk about distance and medals, an Olympic medal is bigger. It cannot be taken away from you. Records can be broken. I have been working really hard for touching 90 m, it will come when the time is right," he added.
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