"Matter of pride that three of us were in top six": Kishore Jena on India's performance at javelin event
Aug 29, 2023
New Delhi [India], August 29 : With a fifth-place performance in the World Athletics Championships final on Sunday night in Budapest, Kishore Jena's meteoric climb in the javelin world continues.
Jena was thrust into the spotlight with a personal best of 84.77m in Budapest. On a night when for the first time in history three Indians competed together in the final of a single event at the World Athletics meet, the Odisha athlete put on a show to remember, throwing a personal best of 84.77m, unfazed by the huge stage or the big names.
Neeraj Chopra made history when he captured India's first-ever gold medal at the World Athletics Championships and edged out Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem by less than a meter at the final of the men's javelin throw event in Budapest. Neeraj recorded his best throw of 88.17 m in his second attempt and managed to keep his lead intact till the very end. Kishore Jena (best of 84.77 m) finished fifth while DP Manu (best of 84.14 m) finished sixth.
While Jena was pleased with his performance, he is eagerly anticipating the Asian Games and hopes to perform even better there.
"Earlier there was a problem with the visa but it got sorted and I was able to give my best. The effort was to do well that did not happen and we will now try to do well in the Asian Games. For the Asian Games, we will prepare in the same way as others are preparing. The training will go in the same way nothing different," Jena told ANI.
Jena also gave Neeraj Chopra, who took home the gold, credit for inspiring him throughout the competition. During the javelin throw final on Sunday in Budapest, he claimed that Neeraj's motivational words inspired him to perform at his very best.
"Neeraj Chopra is a great human being and as a player he is amazing. Everyone respects him as a player. During the game, we chatted with each other about what to do and what are the problems. He keeps telling and supporting too. For me and the entire country, it was a matter of pride that we won World Championship gold in Javelin. Ever since Neeraj bhai won the Olympic gold medal the sport has become famous and hope it continues," Jena said.
