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Watch: Neeraj Chopra's majestic 88.77m throw at World Championships qualifiers that sealed Paris Olympics ticket
Neeraj Chopra stunned his competition in his first attempt itself, at the World Athletics Championships. It also saw him seal a berth at the Paris Olympics.
It didn't take Neeraj Chopra to settle proceedings in Budapest, opening his campaign on Day 7 of the ongoing World Athletics Championships on Friday. In fact, the Indian star hit the qualification mark in his first attempt. He didn't have to attempt his next two tries as nobody in his group hit the qualification mark. The Tokyo Olympics champion registered 88.77m which is also his season best and almost thought that he had fouled in his first attempt. Neeraj's throw also saw him qualify for the Paris Olympics. The 2024 Paris Olympics qualifying mark is 85.50m.
A gold at the Worlds is the only medal missing in Neeraj's cabinet and it looks like he might achieve it this time. He won gold medals at 2021 Tokyo Olympics, 2018 Asian Games and 2018 Commonwealth Games. He also became the Diamond League champion last year. This season, he only competed in two top-class tournaments and he won gold in both of them - Doha and Lausanne Diamond League meets on May 5 and June 30 respectively.
Also Read | World Athletics Championships 2023 Highlights
Including Neeraj, there were two other Indians in the men's javelin throw qualification event; DP Manu and Kishore Jena. Both of them bagged qualification too. Manu finished sixth overall, with a best throw of 81.31m. Meanwhile, Jena was ninth overall with a best attempt of 80.55m.
Here is the video of Neeraj's massive throw:
Meanwhile, Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem topped Group B with season bests in all his three throws. Nadeem ended with 86.79m in his final throw, which is his highest this season, and overall, he finished in second position, behind Neeraj.
Czech Republic's Jakub Vadlejch finished third overall and also crossed the 83.00m qualification mark, with a 83.50m throw. Other than Chopra, Nadeem and Vadlejch, none of the other athletes hit the qualification mark. Germany's Julian Weber finished fourth with a best throw of 82.39m, followed by Lithuania's Edis Matusevičius, whose best attempt was 82.35m. Defending champion Anderson Peters of Grenada struggled on Day 7 and finished seventh in Group A, and 16th overall with a best throw of 78.49m.
