Neeraj Chopra will be competing in India for the first time in three years. Kishore Jena and DP Manu are the other javelin stars to look out for.
Bhubaneswar: Following his second-place finish at the Doha Diamond League last week, Olympic champion and Indian javelin ace Neeraj Chopra will make his first home competitive outing in three years when he takes the field at the Federation Cup finals at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. With a throw of 88.36m in Doha, Chopra started the Olympic year on a good note and is expected to top the podium in the City of Temples.
The four-day event will also see Odisha’s own star Kishore Jena vying for the gold in men’s javelin alongside Chopra and DP Manu. Jena, who is an Asian Games 2023 silver medalllist, also made his Diamond League debut with Chopra but finished with a best of 76.31m throw.
With both Chopra and Jena booking their place at Paris Olympics, the Federation Cup holds a significant place for Manu who is yet to qualify for the mega event. The men’s javelin final is on May 15. The Olympic qualification mark for men’s javelin is 85.50m mark. It is learnt that the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) wanted Chopra to compete in a domestic event after he won gold in Tokyo Olympics and before the Paris Games.
He did not take part in any domestic event in 2022 and 2023 as he was training or competing abroad. His last domestic event was the Federation Cup in March 2021. It is learnt that Chopra has reached India from Doha but will land here only on Tuesday.
None of the TV channels in India have been finalized to telecast the Federation Cup Athletics 2024 yet. Live streaming of Federation Cup Athletics 2024 will be available on the YouTube channel of Athletic Federation of India. HERE is the link.
