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Neeraj Chopra will be in action at Asian Games 2023 later today. He will compete in the Men's Javelin Throw final. Chopra's fiercest rival Arshad Nadeem is not a part of the tournament. The Pakistani javelin thrower pulled out of the continental meet due to a persistent knee injury.
The men's javelin throw event will start at 4:35 PM IST later today. Apart from Neeraj Chopra, one more Indian javelin thrower will participate in the finals. His name is Kishore Kumar Jena, who achieved a personal best score of 84.77m during the World Championships in Budapest earlier this year.
Neeraj Chopra is the defending champion at Asian Games. He also won the gold medal at Tokyo Olympics as well as the World Championships. In this listicle now, we will look at the three reasons why Chopra can win the gold medal today in Hangzhou.
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#1 Neeraj Chopra has been in terrific form this year
Recent form plays a big role in any sport. If a player has been performing well consistently, he is likely to deliver at the grand stage. Neeraj Chopra has been in exceptional form this year. As mentioned ahead, he won the gold medal at the World Championships in Budapest.
Notably, Chopra covered a distance of 88.77m during the qualification round, and then in the finals, he won a gold with a throw of 88.17m. If he can replicate that performance in Hangzhou, he will walk away with another gold medal.
Asian Games 2023 will be the last tournament of the season for Chopra. His personal best throw is 89.94m. The star Indian athlete would love to break his record and touch the distance of 90m for the first time in his career later today.
#2 Neeraj Chopra's biggest competitor Arshad Nadeem is not a part of Asian Games 2023
Injury issues have forced Pakistani javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem to pull out of Asian Games 2023. Nadeem has been Chopra's biggest competitor in recent tournaments. He was the silver medal winner at the World Championships in Budapest earlier this year.
Nadeem crossed the 90m mark during the Commonwealth Games last year and set a new Games record with a throw of 90.18m. The Pakistani star could have given Neeraj Chopra a run for his money in Hangzhou, but he will not be competing.
The two toughest rivals for Neeraj in today's event are Kishore Kumar Jena and Genki Roderick from Japan. Kishore has a personal best of 84.77m, while Genki's season best is 83.15m. If Neeraj crosses the 87m mark, he is likely to win the gold.
#3 Added motivation to help India cross 100 medals
India's biggest target at Asian Games 2023 is to cross 100 medals. Neeraj Chopra is one of the top names expected to win a medal for the country in Hangzhou. India has won 73 medals so far at the continental meet.
The javelin thrower will have the added motivation of taking the nation's tally past 100. If he can win a gold, he can even boost India's chances of a Top 4 finish in the overall medal tally.
