India’s star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra returned to competitive action with a bang, bettering his own national record by one centimeter with an 88.07-metre throw at the Indian Grand Prix 3 in Patiala last week. His previous record was 88.06m set at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta.
Another Olympic-bound javelin thrower, Shivpal Singh of Uttar Pradesh, came second with a best throw of 81.63m, while Sahil Silwal, representing Haryana, was third with a best effort of 80.65m. This is the first time that three Indian javelin throwers breached the 80m mark in the same competition. Neeraj started with an effort of 83.03m before having two foul throws. After a fourth throw of 83.36m, the 23-year-old sent the javelin to 88.07m. His final throw was 82.24m.
There was a crosswind blowing which was creating problems for me, but my body responded really well,” Neeraj said. “In some of the throws, I felt I had really given it my all, but the result didn’t reflect my effort. The throw that created the national record was all about correct technique. My attempt was to be technically flawless. It felt very smooth.” This was Neeraj’s first competitive tournament since booking his berth for the Tokyo Olympics with an 87.86m throw in January last year at an event in South Africa.
Hima Das wins gold, no one gets silver or bronze!
India’s top athlete Hima Das won gold in the 100m sprint event, but no one else won a silver or bronze! The reason: Hima was the lone participant in the race. Primarily due to the Covid pandemic, only two athletes had sent their entries to the AFI. One was Hima and the other Amrit Kaur from Punjab. Amrit was there in the start list, but she backed out at the last moment.
