(Sports news) This was Neeraj Chopra’s first competitive event after just over 10 months and was nothing short of extraordinary as he nearly touched the 90m mark. India’s first athletic gold medalist in the Olympics Neeraj Chopra made a spectacular return to competition after his gold at Tokyo with a stunning throw of 89.30m shattering his personal best as well as the national record and helped him finish in him second place in a star-studded field at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland, on Tuesday.

Chopra’s earlier personal best was 88.07m which he had set in Patiala last year. He had won the Tokyo Olympics gold medal with a throw of 87.58m and his first throw was an impressive 86.92m before sending the javelin to 89.30m. His next three attempts were fouls while his last throw was a 85.85m in his sixth throw. Finland’s 25-year-old Oliver Helander, whose personal best was 88.02m and season’s best of 80.36m, surprised the gold winner with a throw of 89.83m which he produced in his second attempt. Chopra’s 89.30m took him to fifth spot in the world season leaders’ list in men's Javelin throw. Reigning world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada was the pre-tournament favourite as he held the current world lead with a monster throw of 93.07m while also winning gold in the Doha Diamond League last month, he subsequently finished third with a best effort of 86.60m. This was Peters’ first defeat after seven tournament wins on-the-trot this season.

The javelin thrower isn't at it current best as he sat out most of the 2021 season but he's not the one to rest on his laurels. Although he is slowly but steadily inching towards his goal of breaching the 90m mark, Neeraj knows himself that there is a lot of work and practice left to be done. Neeraj has a busy schedule coming up in the next two months as he prepares to get in shape for the major tournaments. He will now compete at the Kuortane Games in Finland before playing in the Stockholm Diamond League in Sweden on June 30. He will also have two major championships up his sleeve as  the World Athletics Championships in Eugene and the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham are coming up.

“Going forward, I am looking to work on my technique, throw, and overall performance. I am in a happy place at the moment and I just want to do well in the upcoming events."

"This was my first competition since the Tokyo Olympics and it went really well as in the first competition itself, I hit my personal best throw and also won the silver medal. Now I am aiming for the next few events which would be bigger than this and of course the Commonwealth Games, where I will face a lot of competition." Neeraj said

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