CHENNAI: There was a grand felicitation function for athletes who had a fabulous run at the Asian Games in Hangzhou. The pool of stars for once was not restricted to one or two but quite a handful. Among them was Olympic and world champion Neeraj Chopra.
Like always, he spoke with purpose and hit the nail right on its head when he said domestic competition in javelin will get more exciting. He pointed towards Odisha’s rising javelin thrower Kishore Kumar Jena, who won silver at the Games.
“In future, I see two Indian javelin throwers joining the 90m club,” Chopra said on the sidelines of a felicitation ceremony of the Asian Games athletics contingent by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI). According to a statement of the AFI, Chopra revealed that Jena’s performance during Asian Games in Hangzhou acted as a catalyst to rekindle his energy. “It was a healthy rivalry between me and Jena during the medal round in the men’s javelin throw in Hangzhou.”
Indian athletics contingent won 29 medals, six of them gold, 14 silver and nine bronze. The AFI president, Adille Sumariwalla, while discussing about India’s expectations at the Games had told this daily India would better their performance in Jakarta. He said that the athletes did exceptionally well and said that the AFI has planned beyond 2024 Olympics.