India’s top javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra on Friday secured his season best score of 88.77m to qualify for the final of the World Athletics Championships in Budapest. The men’s javelin throw final will be held on Sunday, 27 August.
The result also meant that the 25-year-old also qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris next summer.
Neeraj Chopra’s first throw of 88.77m propels him straight into the #WACBudapest23 final. 🤩#NeerajChopra #Budapest23 #CraftingVictories 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/znGTemijYC
— Inspire Institute of Sport (@IIS_Vijayanagar) August 25, 2023
The qualification mark for the final is 83m, and it can be safely said that the reigning Olympic gold medallist exceeded expectations to leave a mark in Hungary.
The 2024 Paris Olympics qualifying mark is 85.50m. The qualifying window began on July 1.
Tokyo Olympics champion Chopra has a personal best 89.94, which he had achieved at the Stockholm Diamond League on June 30, 2022.
Those who throw 83m or the top-12 best performers from both Group A and B qualify for the final round to be held on Sunday.
With inputs from PTI