Athletics rankings: Neeraj Chopra rises to world No. 1 in men's javelin throw
Darpan News Desk IANS, 23 May, 2023 11:51 AM
Mumbai, May 23 (IANS) India's Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Neeraj Chopra on Monday surged to the top of the latest men's javelin throw and is the new World No.1 in the rankings issued by the World Athletics.
Chopra was leading the ranking with 1455 points, 22 ahead of Grena'a's Anderson Peters. Chopra had been at the No.2 position since August 30, 2022, but overtook Peters, the reigning world champion, this week.
Czech Republic's Jakub Vadlejch is placed third with 1410 points with Julian Webber of Germany in fourth with 1385 points and Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem at fifth on 1306 points.
The No. 1 ranking will come as a boost for Chopra, who will next compete at the FBK Games 2023 on June 4 in the Netherlands. He also confirmed his participation at the Paavo Nurmi Games 2023 in Turku, Finland, on June 13.
The 25-year-old from Haryana has risen to the top of the rankings based on superb performances since September last year, when Chopra won the Diamond League 2022 finals in Zurich, becoming the first Indian athlete to win the prestigious Diamond League trophy.
However, he was out of action with an injury following the triumph in Zurich.
Chopra, who holds the Indian national record in men's javelin throw, returned to action at the season-opening Doha Diamond League on May 5 this year and finished first with a throw of 88.67m. Anderson Peters managed 85.88m to finish third at the Doha meeting.
Chopra's surge to the top is a pointer to his brilliant form ahead of next year's Paris Olympics.
Rohit Yadav, world No. 15, and DP Manu, world No. 17, are the other Indian javelin throwers in the top 20.
In Men's 3000m steeplechase, India's Avinash Sable is in the top 20, placed 14th with 1286 points in the rankings led by Soufiane EL Bakkali of Morocco.
India fought back brilliantly from a two-goal deficit to score an impressive 5-4 win that reminded its fans of the glory days when the Indians were a force to reckon with in World hockey.
This is India's biggest win in women's hockey as the team is playing in the Olympics only for the third time and had struggled to the knockout rounds, finishing fourth in Pool A.
Sindhu achieved that coveted glory -- that too in successive Olympic Games, like Sushil -- when she dismissed her Chinese opponent He Bingjiao 21-13, 21-15 in the bronze medal match.
It was Super Sunday for India as the team coached by Australia's Graham Reid rode on a scintillating performance by goalkeeper PR Sreejesh to outwit Great Britain in the fourth and final quarterfinal, setting up a last-four clash with reigning World Cup winners Belgium. Australia take on Germany in the other semifinal.
Forward Navneet Kaur scored a beautiful goal in the 57th minute off a superb pass from the right flank by skipper Rani Rampal to seal the victory for India.
The women's hockey team kept alive its hopes of making it to the quarterfinals by beating the higher-ranked Ireland 1-0, only their third win ever in India's third appearance at the Olympics.
