JAKARTA – India’s Neeraj Chopra smashed the field to claim the men’s javelin gold at the Asian Games on Monday by posting his personal best which was nearly six metres clear of his closest competitor.
The long-haired 20-year-old entered the competition in Jakarta having posted the season’s best throw by an Asian when he hurled 87.43 metres at the Diamond League leg in Doha in May.
The Commonwealth Games champion threw even further at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, clearing a distance of 88.06 metres. China’s Liu Qizhen posted a personal best of 82.22m for the silver. Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem took bronze.
Chopra began with a modest 83.46 and after fouling his second attempt, registered his best effort of the night on his third.
“It was not easy, the competition was quite tough. The throwers were quite good but they just couldn’t perform tonight,” Chopra told reporters, saying it was the best achievement of his career so far.
