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Tokyo Olympics gold medallist and India's superstar javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra secured a thrilling second-place finish at the Doha Diamond League on Friday, May 10. The event, held at Werferzentrum Brandberge in Halle, Germany, saw a captivating javelin battle unfold. Neeraj's journey wasn't without its challenges. He fouled on his initial attempt before showcasing his composure with a 84.93m throw in his second attempt, temporarily placing him in second behind Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic (85.87m). However, Grenada's Anderson Peters (85.75m) pushed Neeraj down to third.
Undeterred, Neeraj clawed his way back into contention with a 86.24m throw, regaining the second-place position. Meanwhile, Vadlejch continued to raise the bar with throws of 86.93m and a meet-leading 88.38m.
Neeraj maintained his focus, registering an 86.18m throw on his fourth attempt. In his final effort, he unleashed a throw of 88.36m, coming tantalizingly close to Vadlejch's winning mark, falling short by a mere 2 cm.
Jena Struggles to Find Form in Doha
Kishore Jena had a disappointing outing at the Doha Diamond League on Friday, May 10th. Despite showing promise last year with a career-best throw of 87.54 meters at the Asian Games, he wasn't able to replicate that form in Doha.
Jena's nerves seemed to get the better of him early on, as evidenced by a modest first throw of 75.72 meters. The pressure mounted in his second attempt, resulting in a foul throw. He managed a slightly better throw of 76.31 meters in his third attempt, but unfortunately, he was disqualified before his fourth attempt.
The next stop on the Diamond League calendar is Paris on July 7th. However, Jena will have to wait until after the Olympics to compete in the Lausanne (August 22nd), Zurich (September 5th), and Brussels (September 13th & 14th) legs. Hopefully, he can utilize this time to train and return to form for the remainder of the season.
Having secured their spots in Paris, both Jena and Neeraj will carry high expectations on their shoulders, fueled by their impressive rise in recent years.
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