Neeraj Chopra betters own national record

The 20-year-old hurled the javelin to 87.43m in his second attempt in the high-voltage competition in the Qatari capital while finishing fourth in a 10-man field. The effort bettered Chopra’s national record of 86.48m, set while winning the junior world title in Poland in 2016 with a U-20 world record. 

India’s hottest track and field athlete from Haryana opened with a modest 81.17m while Germany’s world champion Johannes Vetter took early control of the competition with 91.56m. Chopra’s second attempt pitchforked him to second. However, a sensational German 1-2-3 saw Thomas Rohler clinch victory with 91.78m in his second try. Andreas Hofmann finished third with a final try of 90.08m. CWG win at 86.47m was just a centimetre short of his national record.