By Feroz Khan,News18

Copyright news18

In a disappointing show, India superstar Neeraj Chopra finished a disappointing 8th in the final of men’s javelin throw at the ongoing World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Wednesday. He managed a best throw of 83.65m in his first throw which remained his best in five attempts.
This is the first time since 2017 that Chopra has finished a world athletics championships event without claiming a medal. He then claimed a silver medal at the championships in 2022 before securing a historic gold a year later in Budapest Hungary.
Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem also had an off day as he finished 10th with a best throw of 82.75.
Sachin Best Placed Indian
It was a memorable day for Sachin Yadav of India who finished fourth in the final standings, four rungs ahead of compatriot and former champion Neeraj. Yadav recorded 86.27m in his first attempt.
While Chopra stormed into the finals after clearing the automatic qualification mark of 84.50m in his very first throw in Group A,
Yadav also joined him in the finals as second Indian after his 83.67m effort placed him at sixth in Group A and 10th overall.
Two other Indians, Rohit Yadav and Yashvir Singh missed out after finishing 28th and 30th respectively out of 37 competitors in Group A and Group B together.
In the last edition in 2023, India had three javelin throwers in the finals with Kishore Jena and DP Manu finishing fifth and sixth respectively while Chopra won the gold.
Walcott Clinches Gold
It was Trinidad & Tobago’s Keshorn Walcott who became the world champion with his season-best throw of 88.16m. Walcott is a former Olympic champion having won the gold at the London Games in 2012. This is the first time that T&T have won a gold in men’s javelin at the world championships.
Grenada’s Anderson Peters took silver with a throw of 87.38m while USA’s Curtis Thopson won bronze with a throw of 86.67m.