ACE Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, who made history last year by winning an Olympic gold in Tokyo, on Friday (22) created another history by qualifying for the final of the men's javelin throw at the World Athletics Championships with his first throw at the Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, the US.
The 24-year-old threw to cover a distance of 88.39 metres.
Chopra has a season-best throw of 89.94 metres -- a new national record he set in Stockholm, Sweden, earlier this month.
Chopra missed the event in Doha, Qatar, in 2019 due to injury while failing to make the final in the 2017 edition in London, the UK, after getting disqualified in the qualifiers. This year, the athlete came on the back of great performances in the first three events of the season and his determination showed as he did it with just one attempt.
India’s Rohit Yadav joined Chopra with the best throw of 80.42 metres that placed him at 12 among the qualifiers. Also, triple-jumper Eldhose Pual qualified for the final in his event with the best jump of 16.68 metres.
Praveen Chithravel and Abdulla Aboobacker missed out on qualification, finishing 17th and 19th, respectively.
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