Throwers Neeraj, Navjeet qualify for CWG
NEWDELHI: NATIONAL record holder in javelin, Neeraj Chopra, was among three athletes to make the cut for the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games at the one-day Indian Grand Prix in Patiala. Woman discus thrower Navjeet Kaur Dhillon and long jumper Nayana James also qualified.
Chopra, who won the world junior title in 2016 with an effort of 86.48m, dominated in Patiala. His best throw of 82.88m was way better than the qualifying mark of 81.80m for the CWG.
This is the season’s second competition where Chopra has crossed 80m. Recently, he claimed silver with a throw of 82.80m at an international throws event in Offenburg, Germany, his training base. The national champion had been training there for three months under German Werner Daniels.
Vipin Kasana finished second at 80.04m. He was the second competitor to cross the 80m mark, but fell short of qualification. Punjab’s world junior discus bronze medallist Navjeet Kaur Dhillon also claimed a CWG berth, achieving a distance of 59.18m. The qualifying mark was 59m. Kerala’s international long jumper, Nayana James, also made the grade. In the season opening meet, she had a best jump of 6.47m (QM: 6.45 m). Neena Pinto came close while finishing second at 6.41m.
It was a narrow miss for Rakesh Babu in men’s triple jump. His best was 16.59m was a centimetre short of the qualifying mark (16.60m). Shot-putter Tejinder Pal Toor also fell short of the mark of 20.20m after a best effort of 19.95m.
In other events, elite athletes preparing for the CWG weren’t impressive. National 400m record holder, Mohammad Anas, was far below his personal best of 45.32 secs. He faded away to fifth in his heat after a pedestrian effort of 51.22 secs, to be ranked 10th overall. Jeevan KS won the event, clocking 46.64 secs.