A tough day for DP Manu at the 27th National Federation Athletics Competition 2024 at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha. After leading in the initial 3 rounds with a best throw of 82.06m, Manu lost to his senior pro Neeraj Chopra, who secured the Gold Medal with a throw of 82.27m.
With this result, DP Manu had to settle with silver and also couldn’t qualify for the Paris Games as the cut-off for the event is 85.5m.
DP Manu impresses but Neeraj Chopra holds his nerve
The event started with Manu leading the first round with an impressive 82.06m throw which bettered his compatriot Chopra. Manu also had better throws in the second and third rounds as well and was leading the event at the half-stage.
After a short break, Neeraj got his best throw, in fact, the best of the event at 82.27m in his fourth attempt. This was enough to seal the deal as others couldn’t breach this in the following attempts. After a brief talk with his coach and physio, Chopra didn’t go for the next two attempts keeping in view of the injuries ahead of the mega event.
Neeraj Chopra wins the Gold Medal at his homecoming to India!🔥
DP Manu competes hard and finishes second! Kishore Jena out of Top 3 at the Federation Cup, Odisha.🇮🇳#Athletics #SKIndianSports pic.twitter.com/Km0dotU2Hx
— Sportskeeda (@Sportskeeda) May 15, 2024
Uttam Patil claims Bronze as Kishore Jena disappoints
There were high expectations before the event over India’s second entrant at the Olympics and the local boy, Kishore Kumar Jena. But he failed to make a mark as he recorded three fouls in five attempts. He also failed to clinch a podium finish as Uttam Patil from Karnataka secured the bronze medal with 78.39m.
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