India’s ‘Golden Boy’ Neeraj Chopra delivered a spectacular throw of 89.34m on Tuesday, securing his spot in the final of the men’s javelin throw at the Paris Olympics 2024.
During the Group B qualification round, Chopra achieved this impressive distance on his first attempt, marking his best throw of the season.
Ten days into the Paris Olympics, the country will finally see Olympic and world champion Neeraj Chopra as he takes part in the qualification round of the men’s javelin throw event. Also competing will be Kishore Jena. While Jena will be aiming to qualify for the finals in the first group, which competes earlier in the day, Chopra will be competing in the second group.
The qualification standard for the javelin throw finals, scheduled for Thursday, is set at 84 meters. This means that Neeraj Chopra, Kishore Jena, and others can secure a spot in the final by simply achieving this distance. Additionally, a total of 12 javelin throwers will advance to the final.
At the Paris Olympics, Neeraj Chopra is defending the gold medal he won at the postponed Tokyo Olympics three years ago with a throw of 87.58 meters. As the reigning Olympic and world champion, Chopra is one of the top favorites for the event. He will face strong competition from athletes such as Jakub Vadlejch, Julian Weber, Arshad Nadeem, Anderson Peters, and the German rising star Max Dehning, who recently surpassed the 90m mark. Upon arriving in Paris, Neeraj Chopra left a message on the wall of the Indian headquarters that read: “This is the time for performance. Samay aa gaya hai (The time has come).”
