Neeraj Chopra and Rohit Yadav enter final of javelin throw at World Athletics Championship 2022
Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Neeraj Chopra made it to the finals of the javelin throw competition at the World Athletics Championship 2022, in Oregon on Thursday. He made his way into the maiden finals of the event with a throw of 88.39m, while Rohit Yadav too made it to the last 12 of the event.
Placed in Group A, Chopra needed only one throw, to breach the automatic qualifying mark, which was set at 83.50m. He had also set a national record of 89.94m en route to a silver medal win at the Stockholm Diamond League earlier this year. Also, this is the third-best throw of his career.
In the 2017 event, Chopra failed to make it to the finals of the event and missed the 2019 event due to an injury. Meanwhile, Tokyo silver medalist Jakub Vadlejch was the only other thrower, to achieve the direct qualification. He recorded a best throw of 85.23m.
“It was a good start. I am also happy for Jakub,” Neeraj Chopra said. “I'll give my 100 percent in the final. We'll see. Every day is different. I'll just give my best. We don't know who can throw far on any given day.
“There are so many throwers in good shape now. Five-six throwers have thrown personal bests this year. They are all in excellent shape. There is a little bit of zigzag in my run-up. I shook a little bit, but it was a good throw," Chopra added.
Apart from that, Rohit also made it to the final of the event, from Group B. He had a best throw of 80.42m and finished 11th in the 12-man field. Prior to this, Davinder Singh Kang was the only Indian to make it to the final of the event, in 2017.
Anderson Peters of Grenada topped the overall qualification with a throw of 89.91m. Germany’s Julian Weber (87.28m) also met the automatic qualification mark. Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem (81.71m) made the final after placing ninth overall.