India's Olympic Gold medallist Neeraj Chopra has marked his Javelin return in style as the 26-year-old bagged the Gold medal at the Paavo Nurmi Games 2024 in Finland on Tuesday, June 18. Chopra won the event with his best throw of 85.97m in the eight-man field event in Finland.
Chopra was playing in his third event of the season and missed out on the Ostrava Golden Spike athletics meet in Czechia last month due to an injury precaution. But the reigning Olympic champion was back with an outing that will please him ahead of the Paris Olympics next month. His throw of 85.97m in the third attempt was enough for the reigning Olympic champion to clinch the Gold in Finland.
Neeraj started the event with a throw of 83.62m and led after the opening round. He was pushed to second place by Finland's Oliver Helander after the second round as Helander threw his spear to 83.96m. But the Indian was back in the lead in the third attempt.
Chopra threw his Javelin to 85.97m and was pumped up as he usually does after a good throw. This throw was enough for all the other seven competitors and while another Finland athlete Toni Keränen came close to Chopra with a throw of 84.19m, no one else gave a challenge to the Indian.
Neeraj Chopra vs Max Dehning becomes an anticlimax
Germany's Max Dehning could have posed a challenge for Neeraj Chopra in the event. The 19-year-old stormed into the headlines when he joined the elusive 90m throw club this year with a throw of 90.61m earlier in the year. But he was out of touch in Finland.
Dehning managed his best throw of 79.84m in the first attempt out of his three legal throws. He finished seventh in the eight-man field. Apart from Dehning, two-time Anderson Peters was also in the fray to challenge for the Gold medal. But he was also not at his best, managing a top throw of 82.58m and finishing fourth.
After Chopra, Finland's Keränen and Helander won the Silver and Bronze with throws of 84.19m and 83.96m, respectively.
Chopra might now play in the Paris Diamond League on July 7 but if he decides against it, he would be in action in the Paris Olympics which begin on July 26.
