India's 'Golden Boy' Neeraj Chopra added another feather to his cap on Wednesday as he won the gold medal in Javelin throw at the Asian Games 2023.
Chopra topped the charts with a throw of 88.88m while another Indian Kishore Kumar Jena finished second with a best throw of 87.54m.
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Despite winning the accolade at the Asian Games, Chopra was not happy with the local Chinese officials during the match as his first throw was deemed invalid due to a technical glitch.
The golden boy and the new star in the making get 🥇 & 🥈for 🇮🇳@Neeraj_chopra1 secured the top spot and defended his #AsianGames title with a MASSIVE throw of 88.88 m while @Kishore78473748 took the silver passing his own personal best twice 😮💙#SonySportsNetwork… pic.twitter.com/VjHsdIny4f
— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) October 4, 2023
Chopra had managed to cross the 85m mark in his first attempt but it did not count which left the Olympic gold medalist furious.
Neeraj Chopra hits out at Chinese officials after winning Asian Games gold medal
Speaking to reporters after the event, Chopra expressed his frustration at the local officials as he said,
Looked good, I'll look at the video again to see how far it might have gone. Surprisingly, they didn't measure. I am still puzzled, apparently, the second athlete threw before they could even measure my throw and they lost the mark then.
I protested but then it was breezy and other athletes' were cooling down and it was getting unfair on them. So they offered me a re-throw and I accepted. It's the first time something like this has happened with me in a competition this big.
He added,
It happened with Jyothi, me, and Jena. So there's something wrong but still, we have shown how hard we've worked and won medals. I haven't seen anything like this in a big tournament. Athletes can get mentally down, even Jyothi was affected.
Also read: Asian Games: Neeraj Chopra defends gold
How did Kishore Jena perform in the Asian Games 2023?
Jena had a slow start and his first two attempts were 81.26m and 79.76m respectively.
However, on the third attempt, he sprung to life and threw 86.77m to briefly lead the table. He further bettered himself in his fourth throw and scored 87.54m, his personal best, which propelled him to the second position.
Kishore Jena's 2nd throw is counted legal as it should have been in first place.
— Johns (@JohnyBravo183) October 4, 2023
Brilliant leadership shown by Neeraj Chopra to stand up against clueless and unjust Chinese officials.#NeerajChopra | #AsianCup2023 pic.twitter.com/0hGcMinu5I
His two last two attempts were not up to the mark but he wasn't bothered as he had done enough for the evening.
Jena's effort also helped him breach the 2024 Paris Olympics qualification mark, set at 85.50m.
