Federation Cup 2024 - Neeraj Chopra bags GOLD on his return to India, fans flood X with praises

Reigning Olympic and world champion Neeraj Chopra, who returned to India after three years, went on to win the gold medal in the finals of the men's javelin throw event at the Federation Cup 2024 on Wednesday (May 15). The star javelin thrower registered a best throw of 82.27m on his fourth attempt to claim the top honour. During his last appearance at the same event, Neeraj achieved a throw of 87.80m to win the gold medal in 2021.

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DP Manu, who had held the pole position until round three with a best throw of 82.06m, had to settle for the second spot. However, he failed to surpass Neeraj later in the competition at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. Uttam Patil claimed the bronze medal with a throw of 78.39m. Fans took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to praise Neeraj Chopra and congratulate him on his gold.

Neeraj Chopra throws:

The athlete began with an 82m throw on his first attempt before intentionally fouling out on his second attempt due to dissatisfaction with his performance. Neeraj then achieved a distance of 81.29m before reaching the winning mark of 82.27m. He opted not to take any attempts in the remaining two throws.

According to the Athletics Federation of India (AFI), they commented on Neeraj Chopra's participation, stating, 'The AFI is not at all surprised at Neeraj taking part in the Federation Cup. His participation in domestic events is undoubtedly a very good thing for Indian athletics,' as reported by PTI.

Other athletes:

DP Manu's throws were as follows: 82.06m, 77.23m, 81.43m, 81.47m, 81.49m, and X.

DP Manu, who clinched a medal at the Asian Athletics Championships in 2023, despite his impressive performance, fell short of surpassing the Olympic qualifying mark of 85.50m in Bhubaneshwar on Wednesday. His personal best remains at 84.35m, achieved in 2022.

Kishore Jena's throws were: X, 75.49m, X, X, 73.79m, and 75.25m.

In contrast, Kishore Jena, the local hero and an Asian Games silver medalist, fell considerably short of his personal best. Despite this performance, Jena had previously secured qualification for the Paris Olympics with an outstanding throw of 87.54m, earning him the Asian Games silver medal in Hangzhou last year.

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