Kuortane: Indian javelin ace Neeraj Chopra produced a much-improved show from his previous two outings as he finished third with an effort of 86.79m in Kuortane Games in Finland on Saturday. 2017 world champion Germany’s Johannes Vetter won with a best throw of 93.59m. The German is the gold medal favourite in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.
Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago, who won gold in the 2012 London Olympics and a bronze in the 2016 Rio Games, finished second with a best throw of 89.12m. Reigning world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada was fourth with a best throw of 83.46m. This is also the field that Neeraj will get at the Tokyo Olympics.
@Neeraj_chopra1 🇮🇳 finishes third in the Men’s Javelin Throw event at the Kuortane Games with 86.79m throw in his 2nd attempt.#indianathletes #trackandfield #javelinthrow #NeerajChopra pic.twitter.com/NJEQvU1yZs
— INDIAN ATHLETES (@indian_athletes) June 26, 2021
Chopra began with 83.21m before throwing the iron spear to a distance of 86.79m in his second attempt. All the remaining four throws were fouls. This was Neeraj’s third-best performance this season since re-writing his own national record during the Indian Grand Prix III with a throw of 88.07m. A few days later, he had thrown 87.80m during the Federation Cup – both at NIS Patiala.
In his previous two competitions in Europe, Chopra had come up with the best effort of 83.18m to win an event in Lisbon, Portugal on June 10 before having a below-par performance of 80.96m at the Karlstad Grand Prix in Sweden on June 22.
The 23-year-old reigning Asian and Commonwealth Games champion had qualified for Tokyo Olympics in January last year in South Africa.
