Neeraj Chopra sees two Indian javelin throwers in the 90m club in the future soon

India is the winner: Neeraj said it was a healthy rivalry between him and Jena during the medal round in Hangzhou.
| Photo Credit: ANI

Neeraj Chopra is very close to the 90m mark and with Kishore Kumar Jena also doing very well, the Olympic champion feels there could be two Indians going past that barrier.

“In future, I see two Indian javelin throwers joining the 90m club,” said Neeraj during an Athletics Federation of India function to felicitate the Asian Games stars in New Delhi on Wednesday.

“It was a healthy rivalry between me and Jena (who took the silver) during the medal round in Hangzhou,” said the Asian Games gold medallist who is also the World champion.

India won 29 medals, including six golds, in athletics – its best-ever total at the Asian Games – and AFI president Adille Sumariwalla felt the Indian squad could have won more golds had the team capitalised on the chances.

“It was a bad miss in middle distance events and women’s 4x400m relay at the Asian Games,” said Sumariwalla.

Sumariwalla added the Indian athletes also did well at the World Championships which were held a few weeks before the Asian Games.

“The outstanding performance in a packed 2023 season was a big boost to the confidence of the Indian athletes ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games,” he said.