New Delhi: Olympic Gold medallist Neeraj Chopra ensured his first gold medal in year 2022 at the Kuortane Games on Saturday. The 24-year old track and field athlete throw remained unrivalled at the competition at 86.69 metres.
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Neeraj Chopra of clinched his first title of the season at the Kuortane Games 2022. The reigning Olympic champion managed a throw of 86.69 metres for the top prize.
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Although, Chopra missed out on the much coveted 90 metre distance but this performance is a signal of the fact that the youngster will reach there sooner or later.
A few days back, the 24-year old Chopra registered a best throw of 89.30m, a new personal best and national record, to finish behind Finland’s Oliver Helander, who won gold with a personal best throw of 89.83m.
London 2012 gold medallist Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago won the silver with 86.64m while world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada settled for bronze with an 84.75 attempt.
The 24-year-old Chopra set the pace of the competition early, taking the lead after the first round of throws with an 86.69m attempt — 0.05m more than Walcott. He failed to log legitimate attempts with his next two throws and suffered a nasty fall during his third attempt. The Indian was seen wincing in pain right after the fall and didn’t take any more attempts after that.
Meanwhile, Neeraj’s compatriot Sandeep Chaudhary, a Paralympian finished eighth with 60.35m. On the other hand, Oliver Helander, who beat Chopra to win gold at the Paavo Nurmi Games, didn’t start the event.
Inputs from IANS
