neeraj-chopra-wins-nc-classic-with-86-18m-throw

India’s ace javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra won the inaugural Neeraj Chopra (NC) Classic tournament hosted by him in Bengaluru with a best throw of 86.18m, which came in his third attempt. Kenya's Julius Yego finished second, while Sri Lanka's Rumesh Pathirage came third.

 

Neeraj was slow to begin with as he committed a foul in his first try. However, he found his momentum back in the second attempt, throwing well over the 80m mark. Neeraj retained his lead after the fifth round with a throw of 84.07m. He had a foul in his fourth attempt. Earlier, he had reclaimed the lead from Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Pathirage after registering an effort of 86.18m in his third attempt. Before that, he had taken the lead in the second round as well with a throw of 82.99m.

 

As the event began, India’s Sahil Silwal went first while Neeraj Chopra came up last at the 12th spot. All the participants were first introduced to the crowd. The supporters reserved their loudest cheer for Neeraj Chopra, and the Indian sensation was simply overawed with the reception he received.

 

Ahead of the start of the event, Neeraj said he was not taking any pressure as his focus was on giving his best. The event featured some of the biggest names in the world, and the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru witnessed thrilling action.

 

The event was co-organised by JSW Sports and Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra. It was originally scheduled to take place in Panchkula in Neeraj’s home state of Haryana. However, it was shifted to Bengaluru at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium, which happens to be the home of Indian Super League (ISL) club Bengaluru FC, which is owned by JSW Sports.

 

World Athletics granted the event “gold status”, implying that it is counted among the top-tier global track and field competitions. Neeraj Chopra competed in the event alongside Curtis Thompson (USA), Martin Konecny (Czechia), Julius Yego (Kenya), Cyprian Mrzyglod (Poland), Luiz Mauricio da Silva (Brazil), Rumesh Pathirage (Sri Lanka), Thomas Roehler (Germany), Sachin Yadav (India), Sahil Silwal (India), Rohit Yadav (India) and Yashvir Singh (India). The event was also slated to feature Grenada's Anderson Peters and Asian Games silver medallist Kishore Jena, but they were ruled out due to injuries.