Asian Games 2023: Why Neeraj Chopra was asked to retake his first attempt

Asian Games 2023: Chinese organisers are being criticised for the goof-up which forced Neeraj Chopra to retake his first attempt

Neeraj Chopra, the golden boy of Indian athletics, retained his crown as the best in Asia at the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou. Kishore Kumar Jena, after a challenging fight with Chopra, secured the silver medal, making it an unforgettable night for the Indian contingent.

However, the organisers have come under scrutiny for a mistake that forced Chopra to retake his first attempt. In another blunder, Jena's second throw was deemed a foul even though his front foot was nowhere near the white line.

In his initial throw, Chopra impressively exceeded the 85-metre mark. Unfortunately, a perplexing 15-minute delay and extended discussions led to the nullification of his throw. Officials explained that the scoring system was experiencing technical difficulties, making it impossible to measure the throw accurately.

In the midst of all this, Abdulrahman Alazemi of Kuwait proceeded with his first attempt. This was surprising as the next athlete is generally not given the green light until the score of the preceding athlete has been officially confirmed.

When it was decided that Chopra would have to retake his first attempt, he showed no dissent and continued with the competition. His first throw, technically his second attempt, was officially recorded at 82.38m.

Later, Jena was puzzled when his second throw was disqualified, stating that his front foot had crossed the white line. Chopra immediately intervened and urged Kishore to appeal. After reviewing a couple of replays, the decision was overturned and Kishore's throw was recorded at 79.76m.

Despite these hurdles, the duo went on to make history. Chopra won the gold medal with a season-best throw of 88.88m. Meanwhile, Jena broke his personal best twice to secure the silver medal with a throw of 87.54m. Notably, Jena also met the entry standard for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

"I really want to thank the supporters. I am pleased with the win, and it was the first major competition where I was defending my title. The initial throw and subsequent discussion made it challenging, but I still managed to defend my title," Chopra later told news agency ANI.

"We cannot describe the feeling of hearing the National Anthem, but it felt very good that, at the end of the season, I delivered my season's best," he added.