Neeraj Chopra, on his return to Tokyo’s National Stadium after four years for the World Athletics Championships, defined his presence with authority. He hurled 84.58m in his first attempt in the men’s javelin and easily qualified for the finals.
Last time when he was here, at the Olympics, he had hurled 86.65m in his first attempt in qualification and won the gold medal with a throw of 87.51m – the biggest achievement of his career but the stands were empty and silent due the Covid-19 pandemic. But today the stadium was alive and fully packed, buzzing with anticipation and echoing with roars for the world’s finest javelin throwers.
For the reigning world champion, the qualification target looked simple. After all, crossing 84.50m has almost become routine for Chopra.
The conditions weren’t easy for many others as the temperature was around 33°C with humidity close to 80%. But didn’t look to be in trouble.
Both Chopra and Sachin Yadav were in the Group A qualification alongside some other big names like Germany’s Julian Weber, Trinidad and Tobago’s Keshorn Walcott and Czechia’s Jakub Vadlejch.
Chopra was the only thrower from Group A to qualify in the first attempt. Weber followed with a powerful 87.21m throw in his second attempt to book his spot in the finals. Dawid Wegner, the Polish thrower, shocked everyone with an 85.67m throw in his last attempt. India’s big man, Yadav, threw an impressive 83.67m in his second attempt to be in the sixth place in Group A. His place in the final will depend on the results from Group B.
In a while, India’s Rohit Yadav and Yashvir Singh will be in action in Group B qualification alongside Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem, former world champions Julius Yego and Anderson Peters. Only the top 12 will advance to the finals.
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