Paris Olympics: Prayers In Odisha Village As Kishore Jena Breaches 80m In 1st Attempt [Watch]

Puri: Family members and residents of javelin thrower Kishore Jena’s Kotha Sahi village under Brahmagiri block in Odisha’s Puri district offered prayers ahead of the qualification round of the men’s javelin event at the Paris Olympics 2024 on Tuesday.

Jena along with defending champion Neeraj Chopra began hisOlympics campaign at the Stade de France in Paris at 1.50 pm. The Odisha lad is vying to qualify for the javelin throw finals in Group A, while Neeraj is placed in Group B alongside Arshad Nadeem in the qualification round.

The Indian javelin thrower from Odisha announced himself in Paris with a throw of 80.73 in the first attempt. He fouled his 2nd attempt and could manage 80.21m in his 3rd and final attempt, finishing ninth in the standings. His chances to make the final seem bleak at the moment.

Julien Weber (87.76), Jakub Vadlejch (85.63), Julius Yego (85.07) and Toni Keranen (85.27) have so far made it to the final of the men’s event from Group A with 84m being the automatic qualification mark.

A total of 32 competitors are taking part in qualification across two group of 16 athletes, and 12 among them will compete in the final.

Notably, Jena had struggled to cross the 80m-mark after booking an automatic berth with his 87.54m throw in the Asian Games last year. The 87.54m attempt at the games, where he clinched the silver medal, was the second-best mark logged by any Indian javelin thrower.

He was also the first Javelin thrower from Odisha to get into the final of World Athletics Championships, where he finished fifth with his personal best of 84.77m.

Earlier speaking to the media, he said preparations for the event were on track. “Preparation is very good, and we are getting a lot of support from here. I will give my best. I play the qualifying match like the finals because this is my first time…I will give my 100 per cent that I give my personal best…,” he said.

Talking about famous rivalry between Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem, Jena had earlier said both men share a friendly bond outside of the field. Neeraj vs Nadeem is expected to be one of the highlights for javelin at the Olympics this year.