Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra qualifies for finals

Gold Coast: Star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra today qualified for the finals of his event at the Commonwealth Games after achieving the qualifying mark in just his first throw to finish second in his group.

Joining Chopra in the men’s javelin thrown finals was Vipin Kasana.

Chopra threw the javelin to 80.42m to achieve the mark in his first attempt. The effort left him fourth overall in a field where seven of the 12 qualifiers achieved the mark set for the finals.

“I was happy with my (only) throw of 80.42 (metres) when the automatic qualifying was set at 78mm,” the 20-year-old said.

“I have spent the past 25 days, training with my coach Uwe Hohn (Germany). This year he has been coaching in India and I will be training in Germany in three months,” he added.

It is to be noted that Australian Kathryn Mitchell also trains with Hohn. She won a silver in the event on April 11 here.

“She had a very good performance with a Games record (in the women’s javelin throw). Australia must be very happy,” Chopra said of her.

Like his junior teammate, Kasana also needed just one throw (78.88) to make the finals.