Asian Games 2023: Neeraj Chopra calls out officials after javelin final delay controversy

Indian athletics superstar Neeraj Chopra said he was puzzled after the officials had a major blunder in the field, during his javelin throw finalevent at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. Chopra won the gold medal but not before he was asked to re-attempt his first throw which was not measured during the first try, due to reasons unknown.

Speaking after the event, Chopra questioned the officials, whilst urging the Indian side to look into the matter.

“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," said Chopra.

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The event seemingly got off to a solid start when Chopra darted a throw, well above the 80 metres mark. However, from there on, things went downhill as the officials scrambled across the pitch, attempting to note the distance of the throw. While the Tokyo Olympic gold medallist waited for the measurement to be displayed on the big screen, the officials looked confused which resulted in a 15-20-minute delay.

“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,” Chopra said after the event.

The controversies did not stop there as Chopra's compatriot and countryman Kishore Kumar Jena, who secured the silver medal, was wrongly flagged for an illegal attempt during one of his throws.

Images and the video of the incident showed Jena was comfortably inside the foul line and that the linesmen had made theincorrect call. It was only after Neeraj urged Jena to appeal the wrong judgment that the decision was overturned and the attempt accepted as legal.

Chopra also pointed towards a similar error involving another Indian athlete earlier in the day. Notably, India's Jyothi Yarraji was wrongly disqualified for a false start in the women’s 100m hurdles race.

“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. 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."

Despite the brainfade moment from the officials. Chopra and Jena scripted history, winning the gold and silver medals. While Neeraj came up with a massive 88.88 metres throw, Jena gave a good account of himself by making an equallystunning 86.77 metres throw - his personal best. At one point, Jena led Chopra and even threatened to take the top spot,

(With inputs from agencies)

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