Indian track and field athlete and Tokyo Olympics Gold Medallist Neeraj Chopra scored a throw of 86.69m in his first attempt therefore bagging a gold at the Kuortane Games on Saturday.
Chopra’s score was enough to defeat 2012 Olympic champ Keshorn Walcott and 2019 world champion Anderson Peters during the game.
However, everything was not smooth for Chopra during his yet another gold medal.
The Kuortane Games are being held in Finland. The weather conditions proved to be a big hurdle for all athletes at the event. The less than ideal weather conditions featured wet tracks and rain.
Athletes were seen struggling in their run-up. Chopra too suffered when he endured a nasty fall during the third attempt.
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The Tokyo Olympic Gold medallist from India then decided not to throw in the last three final attempts.
Chopra had incurred a foul on his second attempt, following which he slipped during the third run up.
Following the incident which saw a disgruntled Neeraj Chopra leaving the tracks covered in his black puff jacket, the Athletics Federation of India issued a notice that the athlete was fine and there is nothing to worry about.
“News from Kuortane: All well with @Neeraj_Chopra1 after that bad slip on his third attempt. Nothing to worry about,” the official handle of AFI tweeted.
Kuortane Games (also known as Kuortane Midsummer Games) is an annual athletics event in Kuortane . It was first held in 1921. The event is organized by Kuortaneen Kunto , Kuortaneen kunta and Kuortaneen Sports College
The 24 year old from Chandigarh, is the first track and field athlete to win a gold medal for India at the Olympics. He is also the first track and field athlete from India to win at the IAAF World U20 Championships, where in 2016 he achieved a world under-20 record throw of 86.48 m, becoming the first Indian athlete to set a world record.
After a brief period of injury, Chopra made a high-voltage return to competition at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland on 14 June. He won the silver medal in the competition with a throw of 89.30 m, which is his personal best, and a national record.
Chopra has been designated as a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) in the Indian Army. Neeraj Chopra was awarded the Padma Shri by the President of India Ram Nath Kovind.
