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PARIS: Indian javelin hero Neeraj Chopra on Tuesday underlined his status as favourite to win the title with a bang, kicking off his Olympic title defence with a throw of 89.34 metres in the qualifying round.
Three years ago, he won India’s first gold medal in athletics and with the longest throw of the day and the best throw of the season, he was set to bring home more medals.
“It was a good throw. It was probably the most important throw of my qualifiers. All the throwers looked in good shape,” he said.
“I know I am not at my peak yet. Be it technique or throwing distance, I am not at the level I want to be, so I want to improve and throw further. I want to set an example for other Indian athletes so that we can compete with the best here.”
Grenada’s Anderson Peters, who finished second in Group B with a score of 88.63, will be looking to beat Chopra and add Olympic gold to his 2022 and 2019 world championship titles.
Pakistan’s world silver medalist Arshad Nadeem (86.59) is also among the 12 best runners heading into Thursday’s medal rounds.
Germany’s Julian Weber finished fourth at the Tokyo Olympics and the last two world championships, but he was ready to fight for the podium again, running 87.76 in his only attempt to top Group A.
“Winning a medal means everything to me. It’s my biggest dream,” he told reporters. “I will give it my all on Thursday and hopefully win a medal.”
Kenya’s Julius Yeo, the 2016 silver medalist, fell to the ground after losing his stride in his final javelin throw and advanced to the final with a score of 85.97.
Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Jakub Wadlech of the Czech Republic also advanced with a score of 85.63. —Reuters
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