KANG ENTERS JAVELIN FINAL AT WORLDS
London, Aug. 11: Unheralded javelin thrower Davinder Singh Kang pipped better-fancied Neeraj Chopra to become the first Indian to qualify for a final in this edition of the World Championships.
Kang’s participation in the Worlds had been in doubt after he tested positive for marijuana in June but he was named in the 25-member squad as the banned substance was in the specified list of the Wada Code and does not attract automatic suspension.
“After I came to know that Neeraj did not qualify, I wanted to qualify for the final round. I wanted to do something which no Indian has done before. By the grace of God, I did something for the country,” Kang said.
No Indian has ever qualified in the men’s javelin throw final round in any World Championships and Kang’s performance brought some relief for the Indian camp, which has put up a shoddy show at the global event.
While it was Chopra, a junior world champion, who was touted as India’s biggest hope, it ended up being Kang who came out from nowhere to attain the qualifying mark of 83m with his third and final throw that cleared a distance of 84.22m.
Chopra’s best effort of 82.26m was short of the qualifying mark.
Taking the field after Chopra in the Group B qualification round, Kang sent the iron spear to a distance of 84.22m in his third attempt. He had covered 82.22m in his opening throw and then came up with 82.14m in his second. The 26-year-old was under pressure to touch the 83m in his final attempt and he was the last man in that round.
Kang’s effort put him in seventh position among the final round qualifiers. — PTI