Neeraj Chopra overwhelmed after rewriting national record in Finland-Sports News , Firstpost

File image of Neeraj Chopra. AP Photo

Neeraj Chopra added another feather to his storied cap on Tuesday when he set a new national record with a throw of 89.30 metres at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Finland.

It was Neeraj’s first competitive event since winning the historic gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Neeraj’s record-breaking throw helped him finish second in the competition. Oliver Helander, the event’s local favourite, topped the list with a throw of 89.83 metres.

On Wednesday, Neeraj took to Twitter to express his happiness with his personal best score, while also congratulating gold medallist Oliver Helander.

No better feeling than being back on the track! Very happy to start my 2022 season with a Personal Best throw 89.30m. Thank you
@paavonurmigames for a great experience and congrats to Oliver Helander for the win. Next stop @KuortaneGames,” the Olympics gold medallist tweeted.

Neeraj’s previous national record was 88.07m, which he set in March in Patiala last year. A few months later, on August 7, 2021, Neeraj went on to become the first Indian player to win an Olympic gold medal in athletics with a throw of 87.58m. After Abhinav Bindra, he is only the second Indian player to win an individual gold medal in the Summer Games.

In his first attempt, Neeraj reached 86.92m before propelling the spear to 89.30m in his second attempt. The 24-year-old’s next three tries were all fouls. In his sixth and last throw, he threw his spear 85.85 metres.
Neeraj’s best effort of 89.30m in the tournament also helped him to reach the fifth spot on the world season leaders’ list.

With inputs from ANI