"The first time I am seeing something like this, this is wrong" - Neeraj Chopra on the javelin throw controversy at Asian Games 2023

Neeraj Chopra has questioned the officiating at the 2023 Asian Games after he was asked to re-attempt his first throw during the javelin throw final.

On Wednesday, October 4, Neeraj successfully defended his title by claiming the gold medal in Hangzhou, China, with a best effort of 88.88 metres. The event, however, began on a challenging note as his first throw was not registered.

The scorecard failed to update the distance achieved by him and even though the javelin landed beyond the 85m mark, the actual distance could not be ascertained and he had to re-take it.

Speaking to reports about this issue after the event, Neeraj questioned the track and field officiating at the quadrennial event and said that the delay and confusion affected not only him but others too.

“They didn’t measure it properly. The next athlete threw quickly after me and then they lost the mark. For a while they kept searching for the point of landing. I went and asked the officials what happened. I knew it was a good throw. I don’t know exactly how far it went but it felt good. Because they couldn’t figure out the mark, they offered to let me do the first throw again,” he said.

“The more we delayed, it was ruining the competition for other athletes also. Because there was wind and everyone was getting cold. This is the first time I am seeing something like this. The rule is six but I threw seven,” Neeraj added.

Later, Kishore Kumar Jena was wrongly flagged for an illegal attempt, which was deemed fair and the distance counted upon vigorous protests.

A day earlier, Jyothi Yarraji was wrongly disqualified for a false start in the women’s 100m hurdles race.

With everything that happened in mind, Neeraj stated that something was intrinsically wrong but expressed satisfaction that he, and others, could overcome all adversities at the Asian Games.

“Happened with Jyothi too. And with me and Jena too. Gadbad toh hai. (This is wrong). But our results spoke for themselves. Despite everything, our hard work paid off,” he said.

“Our team should definitely look into why so many things have gone wrong. I haven’t seen this in big competitions because, after a disruption to the first throw, it could have thrown me off balance. We saw how Jyothi had to fight,” Neeraj added.

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AFI vice president Anju Bobby George slams biased Asian Games 2023 officials, says a protest will be lodged

Meanwhile, retired Indian athlete Anju Bobby George, the current vice president of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI), has slammed the officiating at the 2023 Asian Games.

When asked for her thoughts on the level of officiating at the Asian Games, Anju expressed disappointment and confirmed that they would lodge a protest very soon.

"I think they are purposefully doing this. And I am deeply saddened to see such kind of incidents are happening in Asian Games," she said.

"Yes, we are planning to lodge a protest against the officials. This [officiating] we cannot [accept], because we knew winning medals in China is very difficult. Even if we do better, they will do some mischief. And in front of everybody it happened," she added.