Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra becomes only the 2nd man in Asian Games history to defend his gold in the javelin throw event. Chopra’s compatriot Kishore Jena takes silver
Hangzhou (China): Truly a night of mixed moods: First some madness followed by, ecstatic celebration as Neeraj Chopra speared his second Asiad gold medal, throwing his javelin to a seemingly magical mark – 88.88m, successfully defending his Asain Games title, a special report by Rohit Mahajan in The Tribune, Chandigarh, says.
Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra becomes only the 2nd man in Asian Games history to defend his gold in the javelin throw event. Chopra’s compatriot Kishore Jena takes silver.
Initially there was a bit of a fumble when the organisers failed to record Chopra’s first throw. The Asian Games have been a stage for China to display its breathtaking technological advancements and yet their failure to measure the distance between two points less than 90m apart simply boggles the mind.
Chopra wasleft with no choice and had to throw the javelin seven times instead of the customary six. At one stage more Kishore Jena, who practically idolises Chopra, led the field after three throws — with a best of 86.77 metres to Chopra’s 84.49m.
But somehow this worked well for Chopra. “That throw by Jena warmed me up, because I was feeling a bit down after the first attempt, which was ruled out… So, thank you Jena bhai!” Chopra, whose fourth throw secured gold at 88.88m, said later.
Chopra’s first throw of the evening was big. It comfortably sailed over the line that marks 85m on the field. But then came a period of drama caused by ineptness. Before Chopra’s mark could be measured, another athlete was allowed to throw!
The marks where their javelins landed were mixed up, apparently — which is weird, because Chopra’s throw was massive, and no one in the field could have come anywhere close.
Chopra tried to talk to the officials, but his mark was lost. “They didn’t measure it properly. The next athlete threw quickly after me, and then they lost the mark,” Chopra said later.
“For a while they kept searching… I knew it was a good throw… and I protested, but it was breezy and other athletes were in danger of their bodies getting cold, so it was unfair on them. The organisers then offered me a re-throw, and I accepted,” Chopra said.
Lightning speed
The Indian men’s 4x400m relay team wins the gold medal for the first time after 61 years
Also on Wednesday, India breached the 80-medal mark for the first time in the Asian Games; the number now stands at 81, an all-time record, 11 more than the mark of 70 achieved five years ago in Jakarta. With several more medals assured — including at least silver in hockey and cricket — 90 seems a real possibility.
India’s third gold today was brought in by the quartet of Muhammed Yahiya, Amoj Jacob, Muhammed Ajmal Variyathodi and Rajesh Ramesh, in men’s 4x400m — no surprise there.
The real thrill of the evening was provided by a breathtaking escape to silver by Harmilan Bains, who won her second silver with a stunning surge in the final 15-odd metres in the women’s 800m final.
For most of the race, Hoshiarpur’s Harmilan was stuck in the back, trapped between athletes in front, right and back of her, there seemed to be no way out.
“It was so, so hard. Honestly, I don’t know how I did that,” she said. “I was like — ‘I have to break out of this bunch.’ I kept trying with my hands, as everyone was trying to do that.” But she broke through, finding space, making room by using her arms and shoulders, and slowly chasing down four competitors.
She passed one, two, three, four others — she now had China’s Liu Dong in her sights. “I told myself — Milan, keep moving, just keep moving!” she said. With about 15 metres to go, Harmilan shot past the Chinese girl, ensuring herself of a silver in 2 minutes, 3.75 seconds, 0.55s behind Sri Lanka’s Tharushi Dissanayaka.
She now has two silver medals — one more than her mother Madhuri, who won hers 21 years ago in Busan. The daughter is suitably pleased: “I’ll tell her I have one medal more than her!”
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