Neeraj Chopra has ended his season in 2023 on a high after successfully defending his Asian Games gold. He registered his season -best throw of 88.88m in the Javelin Thrown final to finish in top of the podium. He however had to face trouble due to a technical failure that saw his first attemot go unrecorded. After initial protest, he had to re-attempt his first throw which became a talking point.
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While this controversy was just the start, his compatriot Kishore Jena, who won the silver medal also had to appeal against a decision of the official. Jena’s second attempt was deemed as a foul when the Indian’s front foot was nowhere near the whiteline. Urged by Neeraj Chopra to appeal the decision, the Indian finally got the decision in his favour as the Chinese official was caught napping as he did not even look at Jena’s foot before raising the red flag.
“Hopefully all this will not be repeated again”
Speaking about the controversies, Neeraj Chopra said “There were a few things as Indian athletes we weren’t enjoying there, when it comes to officiating. I felt really bad that I had opened the competition with such a good throw, and eventually it became 0.”
“It is not the first time that such a big competition has happened in China. I’m hoping that the concerned parties, especially World Athletics would have taken a notice of what all transpired.”
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Neeraj went on to add that the stoppage after his first throw did have an effect on him. “It did have an effect since there was a gap of 15-20 mins and the body had cooled down. But at the end of it all went well. Hopefully, all this will not be repeated again, since it is very difficult for an athlete to get into a zone.”
On the incident that happened to Kishore, he added, “I think it is very important to stand with your compatriot. We were confident that it was not a foul. We had a few things which did not go our way, which is so bad on the part of the organisers.”
He also touched upon the Jyothi Yarraji controversy as the officials summoned her initially for a false start, for no fault of hers. “Whatever Jyothi faced, the best part was that we stood by our athletes. We raised our voices, and that is very important,” said Neeraj Chopra.
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‘Indians dominating Javelin Throw’
Neeraj Chopra is very happy with Kishore Jena’s performance in the final. It was the first time that Neeraj had a fellow Indian on the podium along with him. “It was a really nice feeling because it gave a feeling that we Indians are dominating javelin now. I had a similar feeling at the World Championships too, as we had three throwers in top-6, which is a great achievement.”
“Here, Jena and I were pushing each other. I’m really proud to be able top replicate what the Germans, Finnish, and the Czechs used to do — have two-three throwers as the world best,” he added. The Tokyo Olympic champion will next begin his preparations for the upcoming Paris Olympics.
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