Rohan Chowdhury in Hangzhou
The 70-medals tally from Jakarta 2018 was matched by the 35km walking team with a bronze, early on Wednesday morning, and later surpassed by the mixed compound archery team of Jyothi Surekha and Ojas Deotale, who bagged the first archery gold for India in this Asian Games.
But the date, October 4, 2023, will also be special for some unique and memorable incidents at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium, the Athletics venue for the Games. It was the javelin throw, Neeraj Chopra’s event and, in recent times, whenever that man has stepped on to the field, he has made headlines. But this was unique.
The event started on the dot, 7:05pm local time, and the whole of the Indian contingent and millions on television were on their toes when the Olympic champion started his run-up. The javelin flew past the 85m mark and we were expecting something above that, but the results never came.
Five minutes. Ten minutes. A quarter of an hour. Probably, this had never happened before at a major event like the Asian Games – that the result of a throw was not announced even after the next participant had already flung the spear. Suddenly, it was declared that due to a technical glitch, Neeraj’s first throw couldn’t be recorded and that he had been given an opportunity to repeat it!
It was testament to Neeraj’s greatness that after overcoming this mishap, he maintained his focus and landed his second throw, officially the first, at a fairly modest 82.38m. The atmosphere was tense, and the Indian media tribune was fuming about the incident, with Anju Bobby George, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) vice-president, saying: “I think it’s a calculative move. I think they’re trying to cheat us. Neeraj is an Olympic champion, that’s why he threw. We knew winning in China would be difficult because they do all these mischiefs.”
But more action was about to unfold, thanks to Kishore Kumar Jena, the Odisha athlete, who threw a personal best of 86.57m to take over the lead from Neeraj and also secure a spot for Paris 2024 – the cut-off for which was 85m.
On being asked later what was going on in his mind at that moment, Jena said, “I knew Neeraj bhai will throw a bigger one, but my main focus was to throw my personal best and gaining the Paris quota.”
Yes, Neeraj did launch a bigger throw, a season’s best of 88.88m, and that meant another gold medal for India. Kudos to Jena though, who didn’t stop and went for a better result. This time, the javelin sailed a massive 87.54m, smashing his previous personal best by close to three metres.
He too had experienced a mishap. His second throw was called a foul at first. According to the officials, he stepped on the line, but that was not the case and it was clearly evident on the big screen. Neeraj, being the experienced teammate, stepped up and went to the officials to protest, and it was reviewed. Subsequently, the throw was registered at 78m.
Kudos to both India’s throwers, that even after all these distractions, they threw their personal and season’s bests to take the top two podium positions.
Neeraj mentioned these incidents in the press conference and affirmed what Anju Bobby George had said earlier. He also expressed his happiness for Jena and didn’t forget about DP Manu either. “Indian athletics is growing,” he said. “In the world Championships, I was enjoying when Jena and DP Manu were throwing so well, and here also Jena did so well. This is how we grow. We push each other to our best. If we go on like this, I can guarantee you that very soon, Indian athletes will do well at the Olympics, Diamond Leagues and events like the World Championships.”
All these statistics were also on television, but what was more special to witness from the ground was Neeraj’s involvement and his leadership quality as the de-facto captain of the athletics contingent. When he and Jena were coming back to the mixed zone after the event, the men’s 4x400m relay final was on its last lap, and both the javelin throwers started clapping and cheering from the side of the track. When the relay team won the gold, both the throwers went to congratulate them, did the victory lap together and it was a momentous occasion for Indian athletics in China – Neeraj, Jena and the relay team holding the tricolour together in one frame.