With Neeraj Chopra, sons of rice, coffee farmers from Odisha, Karnataka qualify for javelin final of World Championships | Sport-others News

Days before the World Championships began in Budapest, javelin thrower Kishore Kumar Jena was anxious. His visa delayed, the rice farmer’s son from Kothasahi, Odisha, wasn’t sure if he could represent India at the showpiece. The poster boy of Indian athletics, Neeraj Chopra, played the big brother. His tweet expedited the process and Jena was on a plane for the world meet.
On Friday afternoon at the National Athletics Centre, Jena finished among the top 12 throwers to qualify for Sunday’s final. He joined his country mates Tokyo Games gold winner Chopra and Asian Athletics silver medal D P Manu to underline India’s growing reputation as a land of top quality javelin throwers.
This unprecedented feat sets up a tantalising Sunday as among those who have qualified for the medal round is Pakan’s  Commonwealth Games gold medall Arshad Nadeem. Nadeem had the day’s second best throw at 86.79 metres with Chopra leading the pack with a solid effort of 88.77m. Manu was 6th with a throw of 81.31m and Jena’s 80.55m effort put him in the 9th spot.
Chopra, last year’s silver medall, needed just one throw to easily sail over the automatic qualifying mark of 83 metres making him a favourite for gold in Sunday’s final. Chopra had a mini scare as his leg slipped towards the foul line but he controlled his momentum in the nick of time.

One throw is all it takes 🎶
🇮🇳’s Olympic champ @Neeraj_chopra1 is on fire in Budapest 🔥
Catch him in the javelin throw final on Sunday.#WorldAthleticsChamps pic.twitter.com/ACVakCvPIK
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) August 25, 2023
Nadeem, a 90-metre thrower making a comeback from an elbow surgery, bounced back from a 70.63 metre throw in the first round to reestablish his credentials as a big-occasion thrower. The only other man to automatically qualify was Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch with 83.50 metres.
Rubbing shoulders with these greats will be Jena and Manu. In their World Championships debuts, the two Indians did better than two-time defending champion Anderson Peters of Grenada and Rio Olympics silver medal Julius Yego of Kenya, both of whom failed to qualify for the final.
Jena experienced a few anxious moments in the closing stages because he had slipped down to 9th place overall. Jena’s first throw of 80.55 was his best in qualifying. Chopra also booked his Paris Olympics slot crossing the qualifying standard of 85.50 metres. At the end of their qualifying rounds Chopra was seen congratulating Manu.
“Before Manu left for Budapest, I told him to feed off Neeraj’s energy. Competing alongside an Olympic champion from your own country can boost your morale. I think it worked well for Manu today. His body language was very good today,” Kashinath Naik, Manu’s long-time coach at the Army Sports Institute in Pune, said.
Naik, a 2010 Commonwealth Games bronze medall, had taken a punt on Manu in 2019. Manu was second in the Under-19 category of the Khelo India Games. Naik says he didn’t go the 65-metre dance but where he hailed from – Belur in Karnataka.

“I didn’t see him throw but when I saw the results sheet the first thought that crossed my mind was how come an athlete from a region which is not known for producing throwers finished second. If he has won silver, he must have natural talent. Coaches I know told me the boy was tall and athletic. I got his phone number and asked him if he wants to appear for the trials at the Army Sports Institute,” Naik said.
At his first senior national meet a few months later, Manu improved his throwing dance 10 metres and was inducted into the Army as a Havildar. He didn’t medal at last year’s Commonwealth Games but Naik is confident about Manu throwing 85 metres if all goes well in the final.
“The angle was too high in his first throw. It should ideally be between 33 and 37 degrees. But it was about 45. In the second throw, he corrected it. Qualifying for the final will boost his confidence. If he is able to hold his nerve on Sunday, he can spring a surprise,” he said.Most Read
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Manu’s parents are coffee farmers, while Jena’s work on rice fields in Kothasahi village. Jena was a volleyball spiker and was a star in inter-village matches. When he appeared for trials at a state sports hostel, he didn’t have a volleyball certificate and was in danger of being weeded out. But he produced one from a javelin competition and got admission. Jena got his first pair of spikes once he joined the hostel. “I made the right choice (of sport),” Jena said after throwing 84.38 metres at the Sri Lanka National Championships in Diyagama last month.

Jena watches videos of world record holder Jan Zelezny and Chopra. When he won gold in Sri Lanka, Chopra messaged him on Instagram to congratulate him.
In what promises to be a high-quality final Sunday, Jena will line up next to Chopra and Manu to cap off a great week for the country. A pathbreaking Moon landing, a teenaged chess prodigy in a World Cup final, three javelin throwers in contention for a World Championships medal, this is truly an Indian August.