How did Shivpal Singh perform at Tokyo Olympics? A detailed look at the Indian javelin thrower's performance at the previous Olympic Games

Junior Warrant Officer Shivpal Singh is an Indian javelin thrower and a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) in the Indian Air Force. The 28-year-old made his Olympic debut in the Tokyo Olympics 2020.

Shivpal qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics with a throw of 85.47m at the ACNW League Meeting in Potchefstroom, South Africa. Notably, before this, he had missed the 85m qualifying mark at the South Asian Games.

Despite some noteworthy attempts, Shivpal failed to qualify for the men's final at the Olympic Stadium following a poor performance in the Men's Long Throws Qualification in Group B.

The qualifying performance of 83.50 and the top 12 performers only earned a spot in the final and Shivpal was not among them. The 12 players were from both Groups A and B.

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A deeper look at Shivpal Singh's performance at Tokyo Olympics

The 28-year-old marked a throw of 76.40m in his first attempt. Following this, he was placed in the ninth spot. Shivpal Singh then registered a throw of 74.80m on the second attempt which saw he had slipped to the 11th spot.

Unfortunately, in his third and final throw, Shivpal could make a throw of just 74.81 m. He was placed in the 12th spot and by then Qualification Group B had concluded.

Despite his setback, he had previously achieved notable feats for the country. In 2016, he triumphed in the men’s javelin throw event at the Budapest Open Athletics in Hungary.

In addition, he secured an eighth-place finish at the 2018 Asian Games and clinched a silver medal at the 2019 Asian Championships. His personal best throw is 86.23 which he achieved at the 2019 Asian Championships in Doha.

For the unversed, he faced hardship during his career due to a four-year suspension for doping violations. The suspension is scheduled until October 10, 2025, and as of January 2024, the ban has been lifted.