Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra advanced to the World Championships final in his first attempt with an amazing throw of 88.39 metres. Rohit Yadav, a teenage athlete, advanced to the medal round for the javelin throw as well. Eldhose Paul booked his spot in the final of the men’s triple jump.
Chopra, 24, a medal hopeful, started the men’s javelin throw Group A qualification round by tossing his spear 88.39 metres, which was his third best throw of his career.
Yadav, 21, who was in Group B, was eligible since he was one of the top 12 athletes. His first effort of 80.42m got him into the championship round. He was fouled at his second attempt, and on his third attempt, his spear travelled 77.32 metres.
The top 12 athletes from each of the two qualification rounds who clear 83.50m advance to the final.
Chopra’s opponent at the Stockholm Diamond League, Anderson Peters of Grenada, was one of the four automatic qualifiers for the championship match. Julian Weber (87.28m) and Jakub Vadlejch also advanced by passing the prerequisite (85.23m).
On Sunday, the medal round will take place (7:05 am IST).
On Day 7 of the World Athletics Championships, Eldhose Paul made it three Indians who qualified for the final in the men’s triple jump.
Paul’s score of 16.68m ensured his place among the top 12 finishers even though he fell short of the 17.05m automatic qualification threshold. His three efforts measured 16.12 metres, 16.68 metres, and 16.34 metres.
Abdulla Aboobacker and Praveen Chithravel did not have the same happiness. Both Chithravel (16.49m) and Aboobacker (16.45m) failed to advance.