India's Olympic and world champion javelin throw star, Neeraj Chopra, won his first gold medal on Tuesday at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland.
This victory marked his return to competitive action following a month-long break. Dominating a strong field, Chopra produced the winning throw of 85.97m on his third attempt and maintained a lead for a significant portion of the competition.
Despite the much-hyped 19-year-old German prodigy Max Dehning's presence as the youngest member of the 90m club, he finished a disappointing seventh out of eight competitors.
Dehning's best effort on Tuesday fell just short of breaching the 80m mark, with a throw of 79.84m.
Local favourite Toni Keranen achieved a personal record throw of 84.19m, securing the silver medal, while his fellow countryman and 2022 gold medalist Oliver Helander finished in third place with a distance of 83.96m.
Chopra's first throw of 83.62m set the bar for his competitors in the initial round of throws.
Helander claimed first place with a throw of 83.96m in the second round, but Chopra surpassed him with a distance of 85.97m shortly afterwards, which led him to secure the top position for the remainder of the competition.
The 26-year-old knew his effort was special the moment he sent the spear flying. He raised his hands in celebration and let out a trademark roar that indicated his solid performance.
With Tuesday's power-packed show, Chopra also staked his claim as a gold favourite at the Paris Olympics next month.
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