India's Neeraj Chopra wins gold at Paavo Nurmi Games with throw of 85.97m ahead of Paris Olympics
India's Neeraj Chopra wins gold at Paavo Nurmi Games with throw of 85.97m ahead of Paris Olympics
India’s Neeraj Chopra has kickstarted his preparations for the upcoming Paris Olympics with a gold medal in the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland on Tuesday (June 18). Neeraj, defending Olympic champion, bagged a highest throw of 85.97 metres to win the gold medal and will now have his eyes set on the Olympics which start in little over a month in Paris. Interestingly, former world champion Anderson Peters finished fourth with 82.58m and was out of podium spots.
Neeraj Chopra bags gold
Having missed the second part of last season, Neeraj will have his eyes set on the big prize of the Olympics yet again. In his six throws, the Indian bagged throws of 83.62m and 83.45m in his first two attempts before amassing his best of 85.97 on the third attempt. His next three throws saw Neeraj end up with a foul on the fifth attempt while the rest two ended up a little short of 83m. However, the Indian golden boy had a look of frustration when he completed his six attempts, considering he was no way near his personal best.
Despite being the Olympic champion, Neeraj is yet to hit 90m in his stellar career with near rivals including Arshad Nadeem and Anderson Peters already in full swing.
To prepare for the Paavo Nurmi Games, Neeraj had skipped the Ostrava Golden Spike with an adductor muscle niggle. He was given a tough fight in the early stage with Finland’s Oliver Helander taking an early lead, however, the 26-year-oldrecovered to take a comfortable lead and win the gold medal.
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Standings in Javelin Throw at Paavo Nurmi Games
- Chopra: 85.97m
- Keranen: 84.19m (a personal best)
- Helander: 896m
- Peters: 82.58m
- Mardare: 82.19m
- Walcott: 81.93m
- Dehning: 79.84m
- Etelatalo: 77.69m
Neeraj will next take field at the Paris Diamond League in July where he will be expected to reach at least the 86 or 87m mark before entering the Olympics. Paris Diamond League will be his final event before taking guardat the Olympics.
