Northeast India’s Only English and Hindi Satellite News Channel

I hope Kishore Jena and I will do it together: Neeraj Chopra on breaching 90m mark

First Published: 12th October, 2023 9:27 IST

The only athlete who came close to competing with Neeraj in Asian Games was none other than his compatriot Kishore Jena.

Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra expressed hope that he along with fellow Indian athlete Kishore Jena could breach the desired 90-metre mark in javelin throw.
Neeraj was leagues ahead of other athletes as he defended his gold medal in the recently concluded 19th Asian Games with a throw of 88.88-metre.
The only athlete who came close to competing with Neeraj was none other than his compatriot Kishore Jena.
Hailing from Odisha, Jena broke his personal best in back-to-back throws and came close to Neeraj’s seasonbest throw of 88.88m with his 87.54m in the men’s javelin throw final event.
During a felicitation ceremony organised by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) which was also attended by Union Sports Minister Anurg Thakur, Neeraj talked about the 90m challenge and said, “I was confident with my training and I would be able to finish off the 90m question. So congratulations to all the mediapersons as you can ask the question once again. But I will be able to do it and I hope Jena and I will do it together.”
Earlier this week Neeraj expressed his delight on returning to the country after defending his gold and told ANI, “It feels good to return to India after defending my Asian Games medal. We visited Gopichand Academy and met Para athletes who are going to play in the Asian Games.”
He also went on to talk about being glad to see youngsters showing interest in the javelin after watching him perform well in the world’s biggest tournaments.
“Well, I can only speak about javelin on whether my achievements are going to inspire many more to take up athletics. Yes, I am glad to say that a lot of boys and girls are showing great interest in javelin after my feats,” Neeraj said in a press conference.
Neeraj visited Hyderabad for the first time since 2015 and went on to talk about his journey which began in this state.
“Yes, it has been a very tough journey and interestingly the first thoughts of how it would be to make it to the Olympics first crossed my thoughts here in this city in 2015 when I competed in the Junior Fed Cup meet and won a gold,” he said.
“Honestly, to reach this level I had to put in a lot of effort, stay focussed and overcome a lot of hardship like travelling in trains in unreserved compartments and sharing accommodation with many other fellow athletes,” Chopra added. (ANI)

COMMENTS

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

WE RECOMMEND

Banner
“Too early to think of WTC”: Rohit Sharma after India lose Test series against New Zealand

"I don't want to dwell on these two poor Tests much," said Rohit Sharma

27th October 2024
Banner
Zaheer Khan, Lakshmipathy Balaji in consideration to be India’s next bowling coach: Sources

BCCI is discussing the names of Zaheer Khan and Lakshmipati Balaji for the position of bowling coach

10th July 2024
Banner
MS Dhoni turns 43: A look at accomplishments of the man who modernize Indian cricket with his sharp mind

Coming to his long format career, Dhoni played 90 matches, scoring 4,876 runs at an average of 38.09

07th July 2024
Banner
T20 WC winning Team India receives warm
welcome at Delhi airport, reaches ITC Maurya

The moment Indian players landed at their airports, they were welcomed amid loud cheers by fans, who shouted 'India India'

04th July 2024
Banner
Riyan Parag to don jersey No. 12 in upcoming Zimbabwe tour, once worn by all-rounder Yuvraj Singh

Jersey No 12 holds a lot of significance and emotions for Indian cricket fans

02nd July 2024