Ace javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, widely admired for his humility and poise, on Saturday acknowledged the greatness of India's pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who he believes can be a javelin throw star.
Gulveer Singh shattered a decade-old meet record, high-jumper Pooja Singh delivered a personal best show, while heptathlete Nandini Agasara rose to the occasion after a setback as the trio added three more gold medals to India's kitty on the penultimate day of the 26th Asian Athletics Championships.
The star-studded 12-man event, to be held at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium, will feature seven of the best javelin throwers in the world and five Indians, including Chopra.
Chopra qualified for this year's DL Final in fourth place after competing in two of the four qualifying legs.
Following is India's schedule on Thursday, Day 13 of competition at the Paris Games:
'I try to stay calm on the day of my event. I don't think too much about it. I just focus on giving my 100%. I try to stay relaxed, eat good food, and rest well.'
Neeraj Chopra said with Czech great Jan Zelezny by his side as his coach and with his own determination, he is confident of good results.
'I am relieved it is coming together well for me. A win is a win and I will take that happily.'
Competing in her second consecutive final in the showpiece event, Rani, who has a season's and personal best of 63.82m, achieved her best of the day on her second attempt but failed to cross the 60m mark in her other five throws.
Gulveer finished ninth in men's 5000m heat two with a time of 13 minutes 42.34 seconds, his worst of the season and well below his national record time of 12:59.77.
'At the previous edition in Kobe, India won 17 medals. With a stronger team this time, I am confident we will surpass 20 medals and create history on home soil.'
'When I threw in the warm-up, I knew I would do well. I thought I would touch 67-68. But I got a gold medal at 66m.'
Sachin Yadav, who will be competing in his first international competition in the Asian Championships, is considered the next big thing in men's javelin after Neeraj Chopra.
Neeraj Chopra said he needs to work harder on his core muscles and fine tune his technique to consistently throw 90m-plus distances in international competitions.
Hujefa Daware had bent down to tie his shoelace and didn't realise the pointed object was moving towards him, an official said.
Neeraj Chopra said he will need to work harder on his core muscles and make his body stronger to consistently log 90-plus distances in international competitions.
Out of the 14 DL meetings, four have men's javelin throw on their roster.
Dharambir and Atul win silver and bronze for India in World Para Athletics C'ships
This edition of the championship holds critical importance as it serves as the final selection trial for the Indian contingent heading to the prestigious New Delhi 2025 World Para Athletics Championships later this year.
the Neeraj Chopra Classic 2025 is set to showcase a world-class line-up of elite javelin throwers from across the globe -- Thomas Rohler (Germany), Julius Yego (Kenya), Curtis Thompson (USA) Martin Konecny (Czech Republic), Luiz Mauricio Da Silva (Brazil), Rumesh Pathirage (Sri Lanka), Cyprian Mrzygod (Poland).
National record holder in women's javelin throw, Annu Rani would consider herself to be lucky to make it to the squad as she has been struggling for some time to reach the 60m mark.
Neeraj Chopra's streak of top-two finishes at events continued as he secured the second spot with the best throw of 85.01 m during the competition.
She finished fifth in the Group B qualification round and made it to the finals as the eighth best across two groups on the fifth day of competitions.
Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra clinched his first top podium finish of the season by winning the javelin throw event at the Kuortane Games in Finland, beating reigning world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada for the second time in four days, on Saturday.
India's Annu Rani failed to repeat her impressive qualifying round form as she finished eighth in the women's javelin throw at the World Athletics Championships.
Weightlifter Priteesmita Bhoi broke the world youth record in clean & jerk on way to clinching gold in the girls' 44kg category at the Youth Asian Games in Manama, Bahrain, on Sunday.
The squad comprises 17 men and 11 women athletes with some of the other prominent names being Asian Games champions Avinash Sable, Tejinderpal Singh Toor along with sprint hurdler Jyothi Yarraji, to name a few.
Images from Day 5 of the Paralympic Games in Paris on Monday, September 2, 2024.
All Indian athletes who've qualified for the paralympic games
History was made under the Doha lights as Neeraj Chopra finally broke the 90-meter barrier - a mark he had chased for years.
Annu Rani continued her disappointing form this season with an effort of 57.74m in the women's javelin throw event.
If the two-time Olympic medallist Indian wins gold on September 18, the day of the finals, he will become the third men ever to win the world championships javelin title in two consecutive editions.
India is set to host its first-ever National Indoor Athletics Championship in Bhubaneswar, marking a significant step towards hosting the World Indoor Athletics Championships in 2028. The event will feature a 200m track and various field events, providing a novel experience for Indian athletes.
India tops medal table in SAAF Senior C'ships; Lankan star Pathirage clinches javelin gold
India's star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra dropped a heart-warming message for his German rival Julian Weber after the duo breached the 90 metres mark for the first time in their stellar careers.
India win four medals in athletics, hold on to fifth spot at Asian Youth Games
Sumit Antil sent his spear to a distance of 69.50m to stand to claim the gold medal.
The 25-year-old Chopra rose to world number two on August 30 last year but was stuck behind Peters since then.
'...it is a good thing for youngsters in both countries who are pursuing our sport to follow us and follow their sports icons and bring laurels to their countries.'
India schedule for the fifth day of the Paris Paralympics on Monday.
