“It's big day for Indian athletics" - Former coach K Naik reacts to Neeraj Chopra, Kishore Jena & DP Manu qualifying for medal round at World C'ships

The impressive performances of three Indian javelin throwers — Neeraj Chopra, DP Manu, and Kishore Jena — became the talking point on Friday, August 25, at the Budapest World Athletics Championships in Hungary.

Olympic gold medalist Chopra hurled the spear to a distance of 88.77m, which was better than the automatic qualification mark of 83m for the medal round.

Chopra’s performance also earned him a ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games as he bettered the qualification mark of 85.50m. Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem (86.79m) and Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic (83.50m) were the other two among the group of 12 throwers who achieved the automatic qualification. The automatic qualification was 83m for athletes to advance to the medal round.

“It's a big day for Indian athletics as three javelin throwers advanced to the medal round at Worlds in Budapest,” former international and athletics coach Kashinath Naik told Sportskeeda.

Promising thrower DP Manu’s best throw of the day was 81.31m, while hardworking Kishore Jena recorded a throw of 80.55m to seal a berth for the medal round, which is scheduled for Sunday, August 27.

Speaking to Sportskeeda over the phone from Budapest, Jena stated that the atmosphere at the stadium was terrific as a huge crowd cheered the athletes.

“It was a nervous start but after warm up throws, all went as planned,” Jena said of making his debut at the World Athletics Championships.

In an attempt to further improve his throw, Jena made a fundamental mistake and lost his rhythm.

“I will not make the same mistake in the medal round,” he added.

The local weather conditions in Budapest haven’t been ideal, particularly for the middle and long-distance events. Indian athletes have warm weather conditions back home and have quickly adapted to the local conditions in Budapest. Naik added:

"Both Manu and Jena have recorded throws of plus 84m this season. Hopefully in the final, the duo will do better. The final will be an exciting contest.”