Asian Games: Good To See An Indian Thrower Pushing Me To Give My Best, Says Neeraj Chopra Of Battle With Kishore Jena

Kishore Kumar Jena:  For a while it looked like an Indian javelin thrower would finish ahead of Neeraj Chopra in the Asian Games javelin throw competition in Hangzhou.

Neeraj Chopra is the undisputed king of Indian javelin throw since he made his mark in 2016 by becoming the first Indian competitor to win a junior world title in athletics.

Since then, he has won the Asian Games gold in 2018, the Commonwealth Games gold in 2018, the Olympic gold medal in 2021, the World Championship silver medal in 2022, and the World Championship gold medal in 2023 in Budapest. He has been untouchable as none of the Indians had come closer to the distances he has managed.

So, when Kishore Kumar Jena threw the spear to 87.54m during the Asian Games here on Wednesday, he relegated Chopra to second position with 84.49m. The moment was just like Dommaraju Gukesh overtaking Viswanathan Anand to become the highest-rated Indian player in chess.

But this moment did not last for long and Chopra hurled the spear to 88.88 metres in his fourth turn and grabbed the lead back.

"I was always sure big brother would overtake me, He will come up with a big one," said Kishore Kumar Jena during a press conference at the end of the day.

"It is not like that," said Chopra, who was sitting nearby. "Sometimes, that does not happen. We went all out and tried our best in Eugene (2023 Diamond League Final) a few days back and could manage only 83+ throws. So, anything can happen," said Chopra.

Asked what he thought when Jena had taken the first position, Chopra said it was nice to see a compatriot pushing him during a competition. "It was nice to have an Indian athlete push me to bring my best. I felt the same when me, Jena and DP Manu were competing in the World Championship final in Budapest. It shows the depth we have in javelin throw in India," said Chopra.

He congratulated Jena on improving his personal best twice and also for qualifying for next year's Paris Olympic Games.