Neeraj Chopra an inspiration for Junior Federation Cup competitors

Neeraj Chopra’s world record of 86.48m at Bydgoszcz in Poland fetched India their maiden gold in the worlds. Before him, discus throwers Seema Antil (bronze 2002) and Navjeet Kaur Dhillon (bronze 2014) had won medals in the world junior championships.

Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra’s exploits at the IAAF World under-20 athletics championship last year --- he won gold with a world record --- will be a big inspiration for the 800-odd athletes, who will begin their quest for medals at the 15th Federation Cup National Junior Championships beginning on Saturday.

Neeraj Chopra’s all five attempts in the final of the javelin throw event at the Federation Cup athletics championships in Patiala, Punjab, were all above the 80 metre mark. (Getty Images)

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Achieving a qualification mark at the three-day championship, to be held at the 35th battalion, PAC stadium, will help them earn a place in the team for the IAAF World under-20 championship, to be held at Tampere in Finland for July 10-15.

Chopra’s world record of 86.48m at Bydgoszcz in Poland fetched India their maiden gold in the worlds. Before him, discus throwers Seema Antil (bronze 2002) and Navjeet Kaur Dhillon (bronze 2014) had won medals in the world junior championships.

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Over 800 athletes have registered for the championship. The weather has been improving these last couple of days and once can look forward to some competitive performances, especially from throwers and runners from Patiala and Kerala.

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In the last edition at Bangalore, Kerala had won the overall title, while Haryana’s Pankaj Malik was adjudged the best male athlete. One national record and a meet mark were created in the championships.