(Sports news) Neeraj Chopra wins the gold medal at Kuortane Games but a nasty fall in third attempt gives him cause for concern going forward. Neeraj Chopra’s attempt of 86.69m in his first throw was enough to make him win the gold medal. The Indian athlete suffered an awkward fall during his third attempt. He made his return to competitive action with a national record at the Paavo Nurmi athletics meet last week as the Tokyo Olympics champion Neeraj Chopra put on another impressive display to win the one more men’s javelin gold at the Kuortane Games 2022 in Finland on Saturday.

In slippery conditions after some rain ahead of the event, Neeraj Chopra’s first throw measured 86.69m was enough for him to clinch the top podium. His winning throw was well short of the 89.30m personal best that he achieved during the Paavo Nurmi Games. London 2012 gold medallist Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago won the silver with a throw of 86.64m while current world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada settled for bronze with a throw of 84.75m. Like he always does, Neeraj Chopra set the pace of the competition early, taking the lead after the first round throws with an 86.69m attempt which was subsequently 0.05m more than Walcott.

The 24-year-old Chopra failed to register a legitimate attempt with his next two throws and ultimately suffered a nasty fall during his third attempt. The Indian was in a lot of pain right after the fall and didn’t try more attempts after that. Sandeep Chaudhary, a Paralympian, finished eighth with a throw of 60.35m. Oliver Helander, who beat Neeraj Chopra in the last competition to win gold at the Paavo Nurmi Games as he even didn’t start the event. Neeraj Chopra is now scheduled to travel to Sweden for the Stockholm leg of the Diamond League before next month's World Athletics Championships in the USA and the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham.

Also read: Neeraj Chopra marks his return with a national record throw