Neeraj Chopra lived up to the expectations by defending his Asian Games title on 4th October, Thursday. The day turned out to be eventful as a total of 12 medals were won one the day. It includes a gold from the Men’s 4x400m relay team, comprising Muhammad Anas Yahiya, Amoj Jacob, Rajesh Ramesh and Mohammed Ajmal. Kishore Jena meanwhile bagged the silver medal in Neeraj Chopra’s event.
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Neeraj Chopra registered his season-best throw of 88.84m to win his second successive gold medal at the Asian Games. While he attracted all the attention on the day, the 25-year old with a child-like enthusiasm went on to celebrate the success of Kishore Jena and the Men’s Relay team in a heart-warming manner.
Soon after clinching the gold, Neeraj along with Kishore Jena celebrated in front of the stand where the members of the Indian contingent were seated. By that time, the Men’s Relay team also won the gold medal. In a video shared on X, Neeraj was seen asking for a flag and with a good catch ensured that it didn’t drop on the floor.
He then took a photo alongside Kishore Jena and Japan’s Genki Dean, who won the bronze in Javelin. Soon after it Neeraj rushed to congratulate the Men’s Relay team and shared a huddle with the four athletes as they celebrated each other’s victory. The Men’s relay team clocked 3:01.58 and set a national record along the way to win the gold medal. The quartet finished ahead of Qatar and India.
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The one-on-one battle with Kishore Jena
Neeraj Chopra entered Hangzhou as the overwhelming favourite for the gold medal. But fans were eagerly looking forward to see the batkke between the Indian and Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem. Unfortunately on the eve of the contest Nadeem pulled out due to a knee injury.
Neeraj was soon expected to win the gold without even any fight from the other competitors. India’s Kishore Jena however had other plans as he put on a one-on-one battle against his compatriot.
While Neeraj was leading with a 84,49m throw, Jena went past him for a brief period with a massive 86.77m throw. With that he also qualified for the Paris Olympics. Neeraj was up for the competiton as in his very next throw he recorded a distance of 88.88m and achieved his personal best to go back on top.
Jena soon bettered his 86.77 with a 87.54m throw and settled for the silver medal, ensuring a top two finish in the podium at the Asian Games in Men’s Javelin for the first-ever time.
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“Happy for Jena”
“I am pretty happy for Jena. It really became a tough duel which I enjoyed thoroughly. We are used to such high-level competition,” said Neeraj after winning the gold. “When he took lead it became very interesting. We have to keep telling ourselves that we can overcome the challenge and emerge as best,” he added.
The track and field athletes delivered seven medals on the day took India’s overall tally to 81 — the best-ever show by the country at the Asian Games. India’s previous best medal haul of 70 came in the last edition at Jakarta.
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