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Neeraj Chopra said he was satisfied with qualifying for the javelin final at the Commonwealth Games 2026 despite challenging conditions in Glasgow, according to ESPN.
Chopra, Rohit Yadav and Yash Vir Singh secured places in the men's javelin final after a challenging qualification round affected by windy conditions in Glasgow on Thursday. After the qualification, Chopra highlighted the cold and unpredictable winds, which made it difficult for javelin throwers to judge their throws, but added that his 79.61m effort was enough to achieve the main qualification goal. "I'm happy that I'm in final, that's the goal of qualification. It was really cold and windy, but the 79m throw was okay, the goal was to get into the final. Conditions are not best for javelin throwers. It's not only cold, it's also windy and wind was also not just from the front, sometimes it was from the side and it's really hard to process where we have to throw. If we decide to throw there (points to right) then the wind comes from there (points in opposite direction)," he said as quoted by ESPN. Chopra said the difficult conditions affected everyone, with no athlete achieving the automatic qualification mark, and expressed happiness that all three Indian throwers made it to the final. Neeraj, who has often sealed qualification with a single big throw in major events, had to wait until his second attempt to secure his place in the final. The Olympic champion opened with a modest 76.28m before improving to 79.61m with his second throw, which placed him fifth in the qualification standings. He opted against taking his final attempt after confirming his spot among the top 12, according to ESPN. Yash Vir Singh began his campaign with a 73.89m throw before improving gradually through the round. His final attempt produced his best effort of 78.36m, helping him finish 10th and book his place in the final. Rohit Yadav also made it through after a consistent performance. He started with 77.04m and produced his best throw of 78.37m in the second round, which placed him ninth overall. He decided not to take his final attempt, with his qualification position appearing secure. Sri Lanka's Rumesh Pathirage topped the qualification standings with an impressive 82.84m throw, while Grenada's Anderson Peters finished second with 81.29m. South Africa's Douw Smit (80.64m) and England's Ben East (80.38m) were the other athletes to cross the 80m mark. Olympics 2024 gold-medallist Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan qualified in seventh place with a best throw of 78.63m, while several big names struggled in the difficult conditions. The final qualification list saw Neeraj finish fifth, Rohit ninth and Yash Vir Singh 10th, with all three Indians advancing to the medal round. (ANI)
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