Neeraj Chopra enters World Championships final, qualifies for Paris Olympics, Watch
Mangalore Today News Network / News18
New Delhi, Aug 25, 2023: Tokyo Olympic Champion Neeraj Chopra qualified for the final of the World Athletics Championships 2023 Javelin throw final event with a massive season-best throw of 88.77m on Friday, August 25. With his mammoth throw, Chopra also secured his berth at the Paris Olympics 2024.
In the qualifying Group A round, Neeraj notched his season-best throw with his first throw itself, it was close to being a foul, however, the 25-year-old survived by a whisker and without much fuss sealed the automatic qualification mark.
Chopra’s compatriot D.P. Manu also remained in contention for the final, he started with a throw of 78.10m, and followed that up with an astonishing throw of 81.31m rising to third place in the Group A qualification list. Neeraj remained at the top of the list with his mammoth throw.
Neeraj Chopra’s first throw of 88.77m propels him straight into the #WACBudapest23 final. 🤩#NeerajChopra #Budapest23 #CraftingVictories 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/znGTemijYC
— Inspire Institute of Sport (@IIS_Vijayanagar) August 25, 2023
Neeraj’s previous best this season came at the Doha Diamond League, it was a throw of 88.07m. While Chopra’s latest throw is still shy of his personal best of all time, the mammoth 89.94m he managed at the Stockholm Diamond League in 2022, India’s golden boy will hope to inch closer to the 90m mark ahead of the Olympics.
With Neeraj confirming his place in Sunday’s final, D.P. Manu also remained in contention for the final 12 berths. Manu managed a massive effort of 81.31m in his second attempt, he could only muster up 72 odd meters in the third throw but even after the Group A qualifying event was completed, only Chopra managed to secure the automatic qualification.
Group B qualifying round will get underway at 3:15 PM IST, India’s Kishore Jena will be hoping to remain in the final 12 spots, and Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem will also feature in Group B.
Once the Group B qualification throws are complete, the aggregate of all the athletes will be calculated and the top 12 best Javelin athletes will qualify for the final.
Neeraj won the silver medal last year, but he will be raring to change that to Gold this Sunday, after sending away a massive statement of intent with his maiden throw.