Eugene: Neeraj Chopra, India’s 24-year-old Olympic champion, knows how to push the pedal. He believes surging ahead in the initial stages of a preliminary round or final gives him an advantage over the others.
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On Thursday evening here at the Hayward Field, the Indian javelin thrower stepped up again to take the early lead in the preliminaries of men’s javelin at the World Athletics Championships. Competing in Group A, Neeraj Chopra hurled the javelin to 88.39m, which was better than the automatic qualification mark of 83.50m. As a result, he wasn’t required to attempt the remaining two throws.
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In the qualification round competitors get three throws to earn a place in the final. “My aim was to earn automatic qualification in the opening throw. I’m happy that I could achieve the target,” Neeraj said of his strategy, adding the focus now will be on the medal round.
After making the final, a lot of athletes like to predict their medal prospects, but Chopra likes to stay focused. “I like to give my best. That’s all,” is how he perceives the medal round.
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After becoming the first Indian to win an individual track and field gold at the Tokyo Olympic Games last August, Chopra took a long break. He started his season in June and took off on the right note by recording a throw of 89.94m, a personal and season-best, at the Stockholm Diamond League.
Thursday turned out to be a good day in office at Eugene for Indian athletics as talented javelin thrower Rohit Yadav also entered the final by virtue of being in the top 12. His best throw was 80.42m.
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In triple jump, Eldhose Paul made his way to the final round with a jump of 16.68m. He was the last and 12th jumper to enter the medal round. “I hope to do better in the final,” Paul said, whose personal best is 16.99m in April during a domestic meet in Kerala.
Earlier, Annu Rani qualified for the final of the women’s javelin throw.
