Drama unfolds at the Asian Games as Neeraj Chopra takes javelin gold; Kishore Jena Earns Silver with Fresh Personal Best

In what was anticipated to be a showdown of epic proportions, Neeraj Chopra, the reigning Olympic and World Champion in the javelin throw, found himself facing a formidable challenge. He was set to face Arshad Nadeem, the 2023 World Championship Silver Medalist, who also boasts a superior personal best (PB), for a rematch of their Budapest 1-2 finish. Unfortunately, Nadeem withdrew from the event due to a knee injury. Kishore Jena, who had secured fourth place at the 2023 World Championship with a fresh PB of 84.77 meters, was the next most likely to challenge for the top of the podium.

As the event commenced, Chopra was throwing second. His first throw has huge, propelling it to an astonishing distance clearing what appeared to be at least the 86 meter mark, which in all likelihood could have been enough to hold through the competition for a gold medal. Unfortunately, the official results never came through.

The competition ground to a halt. Following the official results not registering, and some confusion around Kuwait’s Abdulrahman Alazemi’s first attempt (which followed Chopra’s), the officials revealed that they had not measured Chopra’s throw.

Per an article from Shyam Vasudevan on ESPN, the following took place during the pause:

For the first three minutes, Neeraj paced around, played with his hair, scratched his nose and put on a jacket.

Then he grabbed a bottle of water, folded his hands, and just stood across the judge’s desk. Alazemi went up to say something to Neeraj, but Neeraj just stood there.

Ten minutes later, Neeraj put on a thicker jacket and went to the judge’s desk in the hope of a reply. His coaching staff in the stands looked on with puzzled faces.

Another five minutes later, an official came up to Neeraj, explained they had not measured the throw and asked him if he’d would be okay to re-take his throw.

Chopra executed his first throw once more, registering a distance of 82.38 meters, and in the second round, improved to a distance of 84.49 meters.

In the third round, Chopra fouled and Kishore Jena took to the runway, unleashing a throw that soared to a remarkable distance of 86.77 meters, a full two meters farther than his previous PB which had just been set earlier this year in Budapest. Jena found himself with a comfortable lead.

The fourth round arrived, and it could have certainly been assumed that Jena had extended himself to his limits in the javelin, however, for his next throw, he launched the javelin to a distance of 87.54 meters, further extending his minutes-old PB. Also in the fourth round, the reigning Olympic Champion went out and threw an absolute rocket, achieving a distance of 88.88 meters.

Neither athlete nor the field bettered those marks, solidifying Chopra’s second career Asian Games gold medal, and a silver for Jena, as India takes the javelin competition with a 1-2 finish.

Men’s Javelin Results from the Asian Games