Olympics-bound javelin thrower Jena says nearly quit sports last year

Asian Games silver medallist javelin thrower Kishore Jena says he was on verge of quitting the sport in 2023 after a string of poor performances but he heeded to his father's advice, leading to a revival of his career.

Jena admitted that Neeraj Chopra's Tokyo Olympics gold medal motivated him to achieve more in his sport but he found it difficult to get the big throws and thought of quitting the sport in July last year just before the World Championships.

"When Neeraj won at the Olympics, we celebrated and enjoyed his victory. But honestly, the victory also left me dejected because I too was playing the same sport. I felt it was time for me to achieve something in sports," Jena said.

"I participated in Lebanon National Championships after a dip in my rankings and produced a throw of 78m. Despite giving it my all, I couldn't achieve much. I started doubting if all the hard work was worth it. I called my father, who encouraged me to participate in next competition in Sri Lanka," he said in a JioCinema release.

Jena won in Lebanon (on July 21) with a throw of 78.96m, which by any standard was a modest performance. In fact, Jena could not breach the 80m mark till the end of 2022. His first 80m-plus throw came in March 2023 during the Indian Grand Prix in Thiruvananthapuram where he came up with 81.05m effort.

"I decided the event in Sri Lanka (July 30) would be my last attempt, after which I would quit and go back to prioritizing work and family. With God's grace, I performed well, producing a throw of 84.38m which led to my qualification for the World Championships."

Jena qualified for the Budapest World Championships in August 2023 through world ranking quota. He could not breach the automatic qualification mark of 85.20m.

"I performed well in the World Championships as well, achieving a personal best of 84.77m," said Jena who finished fifth in the final while Chopra won the gold with 88.17m.

"I followed it up with another personal best of 87.54m at the Asian Games (in Hangzhou, China where he won a silver behind Chopra) securing my ticket to Paris 2024. I now want to give my best at Paris. I am quite confident. While I haven't set any particular targets, I am aiming to improve my personal best."

Jena is currently struggling for form as he has crossed the 80m mark just once in the six events he has taken part after the World Championships. He threw 80.84m to win a bronze medal at the National Inter-State Championships in Panchkula in June and that was his season's best so far.