Chopra wins javelin throw silver in CWG, bronze for Yashvir

Indian javelin throw superstar Neeraj Chopra was not at his best under testing conditions but still delivered a silver medal while Yashvir Singh fetched a surprise bronze with his last throw in the Commonwealth Games here on Friday.

The 28-year-old Tokyo Olympics champion produced a season’s best throw of 85.83m in his second attempt, which was good enough for a second-place finish. His effort on Friday was just a shade better than the 85.69m he had come up while finishing fourth at the Doha Diamond League on June 19, his only other event this season. The 24-year-old Yashvir on his debut at Games stunned one and all with a personal best 85.41m throw in his sixth and final attempt as Indians finish 2-3 on the podium.

His earlier personal best was 83.72m. He was at seventh spot after the penultimate round with his third attempt measuring 81.33m before producing a memorable 85.41m throw to join Chopra on the podium. Sri Lankan star Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage won the gold as expected with a best throw of 89.75m which he recorded in his second attempt.

The near-90m throw was noteworthy as the athletes were competing under cold and windy conditions. He is the lone javelin thrower this season to have breached the 90m mark. He has a personal and season best throw of 92.62m which he had recorded while winning the Rome Diamond League title in June.

Chopra had returned from a lower back injury that has troubled him since September last year. The injury delayed his return until the Diamond League in Doha. It was his second Commonwealth Games, having won a gold in the 2018 edition in Gold Coast.

He indicated that he was still not at his full fitness but slowly getting there.

“I can’t say fitness is like before. But I’m getting there slowly. There is still time for the Asian Games. I will compete in Diamond League before that. There will be more improvement. Will improve slowly,” Chopra said after his event. Chopra said his comeback from injury has been satisfactory. “Although we always want the national anthem to play but I did my season best and comeback is going okay, there are other competitions as well. I am happy,” he said.

“The weather was better than yesterday. It was good in the staring but later it became cold and there was wind. “I also had a one go throw only, I thought it will go further but it didn’t fly. I thought I could have pushed myself further. I’m trying to get into my rhythm. I am not able to do that well in these conditions, I like hot weather ... (I’m) Indian blood.”

For Yashvir, sharing the podium with Chopra was a happy moment for him.

“I am happy that I could do my personal best and also get a medal in such conditions,” he said. The third Indian in the fray, Rohit Yadav, finished seventh with a best throw of 81.56m. Interestingly, athletes from the Indian subcontinent swept all the men’s javelin throw medals in the Games. However, Pakistan’s defending champion and reigning Olympic gold medallist was eliminated after three rounds with a best distance of 77.41m. Reigning world champion Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago finished sixth with 82.55m.

Chopra opened with an 80.97m before his second round throw of 85.83m, which was his best of the day. His third and fourth attempts measured 81.29m and 80.73m respectively, while his last two throws were fouls.

He led the 12-athlete field briefly but Pathirage sent his spear to 89.75m, just one-fourth of a metre short of the coveted 90m mark, in his second attempt to snatch the lead, which he held till the end. Ironically, all of his five other attempts were fouls.

The 23-year-old has been in tremendous form, as he has won title seven times out of eight competitions he participated so far in the season. He has won the Diamond League titles in Doha and Rome and finished second in Rabat, Morocco.