Reigning champion Neeraj Chopra made a statement with his first throw in the qualification round of Paris Olympics 2024 on August 6. With a 89.34 metre throw, Neeraj qualified for the final round.
In Group B of qualification, Grenada's Anderson Peters came closest to Neeraj's throw with his first attempt of 88.63. Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem qualified too with a throw of 86.59 metre. Arshad is followed by Mauricio da Silva with 85.91m and Moldova's Andrian Maradare who had a season best throw of 84.13 metre.
Neeraj's best throw of his career was 89.94 metre which came in the Stockholm Diamond League 2022. He won a historic gold medal with an 87.58 metre throw at the Tokyo Olympics 2020.
Jena fails to qualify for final
Earlier, in the Group A qualification round, India's Kishore Jena threw 80.73 metre in his first attempt and finished ninth. In Group A, Germany's Julian Weber finished at top with 87.76 metre throw followed by Kenya's Julius Yego with his season best 85.97 metre. He was followed by Czech Republic's Jakub Vadlejch (85.63m), Finland's Toni Keranen (85.27m) and Oliver Helander (83.81m). The qualification mark is 84m. A total of 12 players will qualify for the final from both groups.
Before the qualification round, Jena was asked about the famous rivalry between Chpra and Nadeem. Jena said that they are friends outside the track.
"You know how much Indian athletics has grown because of Neeraj bhai. Everyone has high hopes for him. It feels good that he is with us. He is staying with us. We wish him well," Jena was quoted as saying by ANI.
Before his qualification round, Jena was confident and vowed to give his 100 per cent which eventually did not turn out to be enough as he finished 18th (including Group A and B).
"Preparation is very good, and we are getting a lot of support from here. It will be good. I will give my best tomorrow. I will play like a finalist. It is my first time, so l will give 100 per cent," said the 28-year-old.
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