Watch: Neeraj Chopra’s 86.69m javelin throw that won him gold at Kuortane Games

A throw of 86.69m was enough for Olympics gold-winning javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra to clinch the top prize at the Kuortane Games in Finland on Saturday. The 24-year-old managed the winning throw in his first attempt. His second and third attempts were fouls and he did only three throws.

Watch the winning throw here – 

Trinidad and Tobago’s 2012 Olympics champion Keshorn Walcott came second with a first-round throw of 86.64m. Reigning world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada won the third prize with the best throw of 84.75m, which also came in the opening round.

The Gold comes four days after Chopra shattered his own national record with a throw of 89.30m at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland. He settled for Silver at the games, which was his first competitive event after the Tokyo Olympics in which he won Gold with a throw of 87.58m on August 7, 2021.

Finland’s 25-year-old Oliver Helander, who won Gold at the Paavo Nurmi Games with a best throw of 89.83m, did not show up Saturday though his name was entered.

Also Read: Watch | Neeraj Chopra, other Olympians, felicitated by BCCI ahead of IPL opener

Following his Saturday’s win, several leaders took to social media to congratulate the 24-year-old.

“Heartiest congratulations @Neeraj_chopra1 for winning gold medal at Kuortane Games with a throw of 86.69m. Your consistency and drive to win is inspirational to everyone. Whole country is proud of you,” JP Nadda tweeted.

Neeraj Chopra will next take part in the Stockholm Diamond League on June 30.

He will also lead the 37-member Indian athletics team for the upcoming Commonwealth Games, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) announced on Thursday.

Out of the 37 athletes picked by the selection committee of the AFI, 18 are women, with the likes of star sprinters Hima Das and Dutee Chand getting their berths through the women’s 4x100m relay team.