Federation cup: Neeraj beats the heat and Manu’s challenge
The Hindu
World and Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra adapted to a different weather condition to the best of his ability to measure 82.27m and win the men’s javelin gold.
World and Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra, who travelled more than 4,000km after competing in the Doha Diamond League on May 10, adapted to a different weather condition to the best of his ability to measure 82.27m and win the men’s javelin gold in the National Federation athletics meet at the Kalinga Stadium here on Wednesday.
On a humid evening, Neeraj, who was competing in India for the first time since winning the Olympic gold three years ago, was the centre of attraction.
With Olympic champion hurdler Anier Garcia, Olympic hockey gold medallist M.M. Somaya and Worlds bronze medallist Anju Bobby George in attendance, Neeraj did not disappoint around 2,000 fans who greeted and backed him with loud cheers and whistles.
D.P. Manu took an early lead by throwing 82.06m, to which Neeraj, who was second in the order, managed 82m.
The two were engaged in a battle for gold and silver, while the others, including local star and Asian Games silver medallist Kishore Jena could not impress. Jena threw 75.25m in his sixth attempt to end up fifth.
Manu held his lead till the half-way mark before Neeraj, who changed his jersey after three throws, pulled off his best effort and jumped to the top spot. As Manu fouled his last two attempts, Neeraj, who had a long discussion with his coach Klaus Bartonietz, preferred to skip his last two and conserve energy ahead of a busy calendar leading up to the Olympics.
With an 82.23m throw, Neeraj had last won a competition at the South Asian Games in Guwahati in 2016.