Javelin thrower Neeraj sets meet record

Navneet Singh sportsdesk@hindustantimes.com CHOPRA SURGED AHEAD WITH AN OPENING THROW OF 85.63M. SINCE HE WASN’T CHALLENGED BY HIS RIVALS, IT TURNED OUT TO BE WINNING THROW. THE PREVIOUS BEST WAS 79.65M

PATIALA: The poster boy of Indian athletics Neeraj Chopra was a big draw at the Federation Cup athletics championships being held here at the National Institute of Sports on Friday. Fans had something to cheer about as the world junior champion in javelin throw set a meet record of 85.63m, which was also his season’s best.

The Haryana thrower, whose set a national record of 86.48m last year at the Under-20 World Championships in Poland, was the most consistent among the 12 finalists.

Chopra surged ahead with an opening throw of 85.63m. Since he wasn’t challenged by his rivals, it turned out to be winning throw. The previous best was 79.65m set in 2015 by Davinder Singh.

Chopra expressed satisfaction saying the result was good. “It shows that I am on the right track for major competitions including the Worlds in August,” he added.

Chopra’s other five attempts were also above the 80m mark. His nearest competitor was Davinder Singh of Punjab who won silver with a throw of 83.82m, which he achieved in his fourth attempt. The bronze went to Abhishek Singh of Uttar Pradesh with a throw of 76.57m.

In the build up to the July 6-9 Asian Championships in Bhubaneswar, all three throwers will go for advanced training to Germany. The throwers will train under the supervision of former German world record holder Uwe Hohn who has been appointed coach of the national team after Australian expert Garry Calvert quit in April.

Since Hohn will join the national squad in September, he has agreed to train the top throwers in Germany.