Neeraj Chopra has won his first gold of the year at the Kuortane Games 2022. A couple of days back, he had broken his national record.
Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra clinched his first top podium finish of the year, winning the javelin throw event during the Kuortane Games in Finland. On Saturday, he beat the reigning world champion, Anderson Peters of Grenada, for the second time in four days. The 24-year-old Chopra came up with an opening throw of 86.69 metres, which turned out to be the winning distance. Trinidad and Tobago's 2012 Olympics champion, Keshorn Walcott, finished second, with a first-round throw of 86.64 metres. Peters finished third, registering the best throw of 84.75 metres, again coming in the opening round.
Chopra's second and third attempts happened to be fouled, as he could attempt only three legal throws. It meant that Chopra had a single legal throw and won the competition when he had finished second in the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland. However, this win will surely boost his confidence as he prepares to participate in the Stockholm Diamond League from June 30.
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Oliver Helander of Finald, who had won gold in Turku with a throw of 89.83 metres, did not show up at this event, even though his name was registered. Reigning Asian and world para javelin champion Sandeep Chaudhary, who also happened to be training at the Kuortane Olympic Training Centre alongside Chopra, participated in the event and finished eighth with a best effort of 60.35 metres.
Peters leads the charts this season with his monstrous throw of 93.07 metres, as he won gold during the Diamond League in Doha last month. Chopra's 89.30 metres effort in Turku turns out to be the fifth-best of the season. Chopra had made a spectacular return to competition following his historic gold medal during the Tokyo Olympics 2020. He produced a breathtaking throw of 89.30 metres as he shattered his national record, placing him second in Turku on Tuesday.
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It was Chopra's first competitive event after more than ten months. It was nothing short of exceptional, as he almost grazed the 90 metres mark, considered the gold standard in the javelin sport. Chopra's previous national record was 88.07 metres, which he had recorded in Patiala in March last year. His gold at the Tokyo Olympics came with an effort of 87.58 metres.
