There seems to be no end to the number of controversies we are witnessing at the Asian Games, where the Chinese athletes are being meted out special treatment, at the expense of other players. On Wednesday, the Chinese officials gave another account of going out of the way, to support their athletes. During the men’s javelin throw final, where India’s Neeraj Chopra and Kishore Jena were participating, such mischief on the part of Chinese officials went to another level.
It all started when a mammoth first throw by Neeraj Chopra, which was clearly over 85m mark, was not recorded. It looked as if there was some technical issue, but now it seems, the officials purposely did not want to record the throw. Yet the champion thrower went on to win the gold. Then in the same event, Kishore Jena’s second throw was deemed illegal, when clearly it was a legit throw.
The issue was immediately resolved after the Indian officials protested. Finally, Jena too landed a silver medal with a personal best. Taking an account of what transpired at the event, AFI vice-president Anju Bobby George made her strong thoughts known. Talking to RevSportz, she said, that while she was happy that India got 1-2 in the javelin, but the officiating was poor. She also added that the Federation was considering to lodge a formal protest against the Chinese officials.
Jyothi Yarraji at Receiving End of Chinese Officials at Asian Games
Just a couple of days back, the 100m hurdler Jyothi Yarraji was in a similar situation when she was asked to leave the field, after a false start by Chinese Yanni Wu. The latter, instead of being barred from the race, was allowed to compete. Yarraji saw the replays and stood her ground. Eventually, she clocked 12.91s to finish in third. Wu, who was allowed to compete, was in second. But a protest meant that the Indian was awarded the silver.
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