Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra will be competing in the final and will look to win a historic medal for India in track-and-field events. He is India’s best hope to get a medal in athletics. The 23-year-old is currently ranked fourth in the world and is in the finals of men’s javelin throw after a fantastic first throw in the qualification. His sole throw went well beyond the qualification mark and helped Chopra storm straight into the final.
Should Neeraj Chopra clinch a podium, it will be India’s first medal in track and field events since Norman Pritchard won two silvers during the 1900 Olympics. Over the years a host of athletes like Milkha Singh, PT Usha and Anjum Bobby George have come close to the podium but fell agonisingly short of a medal finish. Chopra will hope to avoid the same on Saturday when he fires his Nemeth into the distance at the Olympic Stadium.
“I am at my first Olympic Games, and I feel very good. In warm-up my performance wasn’t so good, but then (in the qualifying round) my first throw had a good angle, and was a perfect throw,” Chopra had said after the qualifying round on Wednesday.
“I will need to focus on the throw, and try to repeat this (performance) with a higher score,” said the youngster who came into the Olympics with the fourth best throw (88.07m) this year.
Johannes Vetter of Germany: Vetter, who had earlier said that Chopra will find it tough to beat him in the Olympics, struggled in his first two throws before crossing the automatic qualification mark with a 85.64m final throw. The 28-year-old towering German, who came into the Olympics after having seven monster throws of over 90m between April and June, was lying at a dangerous seventh position after his first two throws but eventually qualified for the final at second overall behind Chopra.
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India has high hopes from Neeraj Chopra. A farmer's son from Khandra village near Panipat in Haryana who took up athletics to shed flab, Chopra can script history by winning the elusive medal. Again on Saturday, the Indian athletics contingent is expected to be in full strength at the Olympic Stadium, hoping that history is created by Chopra.