Indian athlete Neeraj Chopra qualified for finals of men’s javelin throw at the ongoing Tokyo Olympics. Chopra threw a monstrous 86.65m in the qualification round on 4th August (Wednesday)
Hailing from Haryana the 23-year-old is one of India’s medal hopes his fantastic performance so far has kept the dreams of a medal alive among his supporters.
It is to be noted that Pakistan javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem has also qualified for the finals after an attempt of 85.16m in the qualifying round in his respective group.
The qualification of both the athletes led to netizens sharing their old picture from Asian Games 2018 held in Jakarta online. In the picture both Neeraj and Arshad can be seen shaking hands while standing at the podium after Neeraj won a gold medal at the event, while Arshad bagged silver.
Neeraj had created history at Jakarta by setting up a new national record in men’s javelin throw, which the Haryana athlete broke earlier this year at Indian Grand Prix 3 held in Patiala. Neeraj become the first Indian athlete to win a gold medal in men’s javelin final in the Asian Games.
In the Asian Games Chopra had thrown the spear 88.06m, the 23-year-old beat his own record by 0.01m and now the national record in men’s javelin stands at 88.07m.
In the qualification round, Neeraj finished at the top with a 86.65m throw, and was followed by Germany’s Johannes Vetter (85.64m), and Arshad (85.16m) in the second and third position respectively. Chopra has become the first Indian to top the qualification at any athletics event at the Olympics.
And now fans can’t wait to see a lip-smacking India vs Pakistan contest in the finals of the event on August 7.
