Neeraj Chopra clinches Gold at 2024 Federation Cup; Kishore Jena fails to impress again

India's ace athlete Neeraj Chopra claimed Gold in the men's javelin event at the Federation Cup 2024 on Wednesday. Playing in India after a gap of three years, Neeraj recorded a throw of 82.27 meters to beat DP Manu at Bhubaneshwar's Kalinga Stadium.

Neeraj made a successful comeback to the 27th national federation senior athletics competition Bhubaneshwar. He won the Gold in his last appearance at the Federation Cup in March 2021 but didn't feature in any event in India since then. Having played in the Doha Diamond League 2024 last week, Neeraj did not push himself for his best efforts as he only started preparing for the Paris Olympic Games last month.

Meanwhile, Kishore Kumar Jenna, who will be participating in the Paris Olympics 2024, failed to impress with his best throw of 75.49 meters. Kishore also struggled in the recent Doha Diamond League 2024 where he finished in the ninth position with his best attempt of 77.31 meters.

Neeraj also featured in the Doha Diamond League last week in his first competitive appearance of the 2024 season. He failed to defend his title after falling just 0.02m short of eventual winner Jakub Vadlejch's 88.38m throw. He struggled for a dominant start in his first three attempts at Kalinga Stadium.

The Olympic Gold medalist then stepped up his game with an 82.27-meter throw in his fourth attempt to take the lead for the first time. Neeraj skipped the last two rounds as DP Manu failed to match or surpass the former's best attempt. Manu took an early lead with his best throw of 82.06m coming in the first round while Neeraj exerted himself due to hot and humid conditions in Bhubaneshwar.