NEW DELHI: India’s star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra predictably won gold in his first competition at home in three years, but he refused to read too much into his below-par 82.27 meter throw as he prepares to defend his Olympic title in Paris.
Chopra began his season with a second place finish at the Diamond League meeting in Doha on Friday and immediately dashed home to compete in the Federation Cup in the east Indian city of Bhubaneswar.
Chopra sealed top of the podium with his forth attempt and did not take the final two throws in his first home event since winning India’s first athletics gold at the Tokyo Olympics.
“I came here after competing in Doha and there was not much recovery time,” Chopra told reporters on Wednesday.
“I competed in this kind of weather after a while. I was not feeling that good ... so I decided to stop after four throws.”
“Let’s not talk about the throw, it was not up to the mark. This one is not my consistent type of throw.”
Asked about his chances of hitting the 90-meter mark, Chopra, who has a personal best of 89.94 meters, said it would come at the right time and at the right place.
The 26-year-old was the center of attention at the home meet.
He did not start the press conference until another event was over, and hung around later to greet fellow athletes and enquire about their training and oblige selfie-seekers.
“It felt great to compete in India after a long time with so many people turning up to support me,” he said.
Chopra is scheduled to compete in the Czech Republic and Finland before defending his Olympic title in Paris.
“It’s going to be really tough competition in Paris,” he said.
“In Doha too, the competition was intense. I have a couple of more events before the Olympics, and will try to throw better.”
India’s Chopra picks up javelin gold in home appearance
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India’s Chopra picks up javelin gold in home appearance
- Chopra began his season with a second-place finish at Diamond League meeting in Doha on Friday
- Chopra scheduled to compete in Czech Republic and Finland before defending Olympic title in Paris
Australia, Ireland out of T20 World Cup as Zimbabwe qualify after washout
- Zimbabwe will move on to face the West Indies, India and South Africa in the next phase
- Zimbabwe captain Skiander Raza hails side’s achievement, but warns of tougher battles
KANDY, Sri Lanka: The 2021 champions Australia were knocked out of the T20 World Cup on Tuesday, with Zimbabwe qualifying for the Super Eights after their match against Ireland was washed out without a ball being bowled in Kandy.
Zimbabwe joined Sri Lanka as qualifiers from Group B and will move on to face the West Indies, India and South Africa in the next phase. Ireland were also eliminated.
Persistent drizzle all day at the Pallekelle stadium kept the covers on and the umpires finally called it off at 5:30 p.m. local time (1200 GMT) with no prospect of beginning the minimum five-over match before the 6:10 p.m. cut-off time.
Australia, who had been beaten by Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, needed an Ireland victory to keep their hopes alive.
Zimbabwe are now on an unassailable five points with a game to still to come, while Ireland are third on three points.
Australia, on two points, have one game remaining against Oman on Friday, but cannot overtake Zimbabwe.
Australia had a shambolic build-up to the tournament
They lost leading pace bowlers Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood to injury, while captain Mitchell Marsh missed the first two games after being hit in the groin in training and suffering testicular bleeding
Test great Steve Smith was left out despite being in terrific form top of the order in the Big Bash League and his expertise in playing against spin bowling.
COLOURFUL FANS
He flew in as cover last week and was formally added to the Australia squad at the weekend.
But then he was left out for the must-win game against Sri Lanka on Monday which saw an Australia middle-order collapse as they lost by eight wickets.
Zimbabwe captain Skiander Raza hailed his side’s achievement in reaching the last eight, but warned there were tougher battles to come.
“We have come this far. We will celebrate but we have a game against Sri Lanka to come,” said Raza.
“This is only a tick in the box and this is not the only thing that we set out for. Everyone loves an underdog story.”
Ireland skipper Lorcan Tucker was downcast after his side did not get to play.
“Obviously very disappointed to go out in this fashion, but completely uncontrollable,” said Tucker.
“Our batting failed. There were big moments in the tournament particularly against Sri Lanka when we dropped so many catches.
“Hopefully, we will handle these tough situations differently moving forward.”
The rain did not dampen the spirits of a hearty and colorful band of about two dozen Zimbabwe fans, who danced and sang throughout the damp afternoon to serenade their team’s qualification.
“I can tell you, whichever corner they’re sitting at, at any ground, they’ll be the loudest, and they have the songs,” said Raza of the fans.
“They just keep the vibe. They keep lifting us up when their energies are down — and in this weather, it can be sometimes.
“But when we hear them to push us on and we know the songs as well, it gives us that energy as well.”
