Johannes Vetter of Germany
His own shock exit from the Olympics notwithstanding, superstar German javelin thrower Johannes Vetter on Saturday said he was happy for his good friend Neeraj Chopra, who clinched a history-making gold in the Olympics here.
The 28-year-old Vetter had come into the Olympics as a hot favourite for gold, having thrown 90m plus on seven occasions between April and June but he was shockingly eliminated after the first three throws in the final, placed ninth with a best effort of 82.52m.
The German, who had won gold and a bronze in 2017 and 2019 World Championships respectively, had struggled in the qualifying round also on Wednesday. He has not won an Olympic medal so far.
"He (Neeraj) is a really talented guy, always really friendly. I am happy for him," said Vetter, who has a personal best of 97.76m, after his stunning exit from the event.
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He also suggested that Chopra has developed a new blocking technique which could have helped the Indian in coming up with big throws. "He (Neeraj) has another blocking technique as he showed in the qualification. He did a great job," said Vetter.
Vetter and Chopra had travelled together for three hours from Helsinki when both competed in the Kuortane Games in Finland in June. Vetter had won the event while Chopra had finished third.
The duo had discussed their game and life beyond it. Vetter had later said that it would be tough for Chopra to beat him in the Olympics. In 2018, Vetter had predicted that Chopra would be one of the stars in the world arena and will throw 90m plus in near future.
