World Athletics Championships 2022: Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra stamps his authority at Hayward Field, ready to battle arch-rival Anderson Peters for the title

Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra qualified for the final of the men's javelin throw at the World Athletics Championships and looks set to end the country's medal drought in the global meet.

India’s retired long jumper Anju Bobby George won bronze at the 2003 edition of the World Athletics Championships in Paris.

The Indian thrower, an overwhelming favorite for a medal in Eugene, hurdled the javelin to a distance of 88.39 meters in his opening qualification throw to stamp his authority in the competition.

The Olympic champion said in the Mixed Zone:

“I wanted to achieve the automatic qualification of the 83.50 meter mark on my first throw. I am excited to achieve my goal.”

Of the 12 finalists, only four - two in each group - could achieve the automatic qualification mark of 83.50 meters.

Neeraj Chopra looked relaxed and confident, and went through his routine warm-up. Since there is no additional track for throwers, competitors were allowed to enter the field of play at least 30 minutes before the actual competition to get a feel for the ground.

Adding that he was mentally prepared for a big opening throw, the Olympic champion said:

“The track was good. The weather was also excellent.”

Neeraj Chopra has two pairs of spikes in his bag and uses one of them as per the requirement to have a firm grip on the track.

According to the Olympic champion, he wore spikes with slightly bigger nails to have a better rhythm as each track surface is different.

Following his qualification for the medal round, Neeraj Chopra said:

“I didn’t want to take a chance as the track surfaces are different at all the venues. Good grip is good for the rhythm. That was the reason I always keep two pairs of spikes in my bag.”

Apart from Chopra, the automatic qualification mark in Group A was achieved by Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic.

Egypt’s Ihab Abdelrahman narrowly missed the qualification mark as his best throw was 83.41 meters, but made the cut for the final.

While Chopra led Group A, arch rival Anderson Peters of Grenada sat atop Group B with an impressive throw of 89.91 meters. Germany’s Julian Weber, with a throw of 87.28 meters, was the second athlete in Group B to achieve automatic qualification.

Rohit Yadav and Eldhose Paul also in medal contention alongside Neeraj Chopra

Thursday evening in Eugene turned out to be a good day for Indian athletes as Rohit Yadav and Eldhose Paul also made it to the finals of their respective events.

Yadav qualified for the men's javelin throw final with a throw of 80.42 meters. He will be in action alongside Neeraj Chopra on Saturday, July 23.

Elated at the prospect of being in the medal round on his debut, he said:

“I couldn't get a good rhythm in the second and third chance in the qualification, but will try to improve my performance in the final. I will surely get additional motivation as Neeraj Bhai is also there in the final.”

Indian triple jumper Eldose Paul also booked a berth in the finals of the World Athletics Championships by finishing in the top 12. He became the first Indian to achieve the feat.

Speaking during the post-match interaction, Paul said:

“I will certainly plan to improve my personal best, which is 16.99 meters.”

Paul's best jump on Thursday was 16.68m.

Due to visa problems, Paul arrived in Eugene on July 14, due to visa problems. However, that didn't deter the triple jumper from giving his best. He added:

“I missed vital training sessions, but made best use of the time at hand.”