Kuortane (Finland): Star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra hurled the spear to a distance of 86.79 meters for bronze at the Kuortane Games here on Saturday.
The 23-year-old athlete, who has qualified for the Olympic Games, began his campaign with a modest throw of 83.21m and improved to 86.79m in his second attempt.
Germany’s Johannes Vetter won gold with a throw of 93.59m.
Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago bagged silver with a throw of 89.12m.
This international event is Chopra’s third competition on the European circuit. He won gold medals in Lisbon on June 10 and in Karlstad on June 22.
But Chopra’s performance in both Lisbon and Karlstad was moderate, though. The 2018 Jakarta Asian and Commonwealth Games champion’s personal best and national record is 88.07m, recorded in March in Patiala.
In Lisbon, Chopra won gold with 83.18m while his best throw in Karlstad was 80.96m.
Chopra returned to international competition after nearly 18 months due to the Covid pandemic, after qualifying for the Tokyo Olympic Games in January 2020 in South Africa.
Shivpal Singh is the other Indian javelin thrower to have qualified for the Olympics. He, however, has opted to train in Patiala to prepare for the Olympics.
