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Neeraj Chopra wins gold at Paavo Nurmi Games

Neeraj Chopra, in his first competition in India since becoming the Olympic champion, won gold at the Federation Cup 2024 with best throw of 82.27m. Odisha Sports

Neeraj Chopra won gold at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland with a throw of 85.97m. A rather comfortable win by the end, Chopra beat two Finns to the prize, Toni Keranen (84.19m, a personal best) and Oliver Helander (83.96m).

Former world champion Anderson Peters finished fourth with 82.58m, while young German sensation Max Dehning had a disappointing day out with a best of 79.84m, a mark good enough only for seventh (out of eight). Touted as the first clash between Chopra and young Dehning, the event turned into an anti climax.

Chopra lead after his first throw, only to be overtaken by Helander on the second, In the third, though, Chopra let out a yell and held his hands aloft: the sign that he was happy with his throw. And when he's happy that usually means... the lead is his, and so it turned out to be. Although Keranen pushed his personal limits to get past his more famous compatriot, it was still not anywhere near enough to trouble the Indian.

Chopra would have a disappointing next set of throws, but he will be pleased with the result. A gold is what he always aims for at any tournament and it's a gold that he's gotten, even if the numbers weren't upto his usual standard. Considering he's retuning from a minor adductor muscle strain, this is still a good sign, though.

Here's how Chopra's six throws went:

  • 83.62m

  • 83.45m

  • 85.97m (the best)

  • 82.21m

  • FOUL

  • 82.97m

And here's how the final standings looked;

  1. Chopra: 85.97m

  2. Keranen: 84.19m (a personal best)

  3. Helander: 83.96m

  4. Peters: 82.58m

  5. Mardare: 82.19m

  6. Walcott: 81.93m

  7. Dehning: 79.84m

  8. Etelatalo: 77.69m

In other results at the Games, Olympic champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs showed he's back with a solid win in the 100m (9.93s) while Omar McLeod, Rio champion, had a confidence boosting win in the 110m hurdles (13.38s).

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