Neeraj Chopra claimed gold with a throw of 88.88m in the 2023 Asian Games on Wednesday evening in Hangzhou, China.
India also bagged the silver medal as Kishore Kumar Jena stood second after he finished with a throw of 87.54m.
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Due to a technical snag, Neeraj's first throw was invalid and he had to retake after a brief pause. The athlete was spotted having a chat with the officials after his attempt was cancelled despite no fault of his. His first throw, which was ruled out, had crossed the 85m mark and was just short of the 90m.
However, during the retake, he could not replicate his earlier performance and had to settle for just 82.38m.
In his next attempt, he bettered his first score by a couple of metres and recorded a distance of 84.49m.
His third throw was a foul but in the third attempt, he came back strongly and scored 88.88m which was enough to seal the top spot for him.
Technical delay.@Neeraj_chopra1 having a word with official. pic.twitter.com/6PenYnhMOl
— Athletics Federation of India (@afiindia) October 4, 2023
MORE: Updated list of all Indian medal winners at 2023 Asian Games
𝑲𝒂𝒓 𝑯𝒂𝒓 𝑴𝒂𝒊𝒅𝒂𝒏 𝑭𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒉💪🏻#GOLD🥇 FOR THE G.O.A.T@Neeraj_chopra1 conquers #AsianGames2022 for the second time with a season best throw of 88.88!
— SAI Media (@Media_SAI) October 4, 2023
Take a bow King👑! You have done it💪🏻
Congratulations on your #HallaBol performance 🥳#Cheer4India#JeetegaBharat… pic.twitter.com/m7NhwV8o6X
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.
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.
Asian Games 2023 javelin throw: Results for men
| Athlete | Best throw |
|---|---|
| Neeraj Chopra (India) | 88.88m |
| Kishore Kumar Jena (India) | 87.54m |
| Roderick Genki Dean (Japan) | 78.87m |
| Muhammad Yasir (Pakistan) | 78.13m |
| Kenji Ogura (Japan) | 77.87m |
| Haoran Hu (China) | 75.41m |
| Ali Essa I Al Abdulghani (Saudi Arabia) | 72.75m |
| Abdulrahman Alazemi (Kuwait) | 71.41m |
| Abd Hafiz (Indonesia) | 70.89m |
| Chao-Tsun Cheng (Chinese Taipei) | 67.03m |
| Wachirawit Sornwichai (Thailand) | 63.29m |
| Wai Hei Ricky Hui (Hong Kong China) | 62.55 |
| Shih-Feng Huang (Chinese Taipei) | X |
| Dani Kim (Republic of Korea) | X |
MORE: India hit best-ever medals count at Asian Games with archery gold
