WTT China Smash: Six-time Olympic champion Ma advances into last 32
Chinese table tennis icon Ma Long claimed victory in the men's singles first round with ease at the World Table Tennis (WTT) China Smash here on Monday.
Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra clinched the gold medal in the javelin throw with a modest 82.27m effort at the Federation Cup athletics meet in Bhubaneswar.
He, however, failed to breach the 90 m mark.
The 26-year-old Neeraj participated in a domestic event for the first time since becoming the Olympic champion three years ago.
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The last time he competed in the Federation Cup was March 2021, where he won the gold medal with a throw of 87.80m.
He also participated in his second competitive outing of the outdoor athletics season, having finished second at the Doha Diamond League last week with a throw of 88.36m.
Asian Athletics Championships silver medallist DP Manu clinched the silver medal at the Kalinga Stadium with a 82.06m mark while Uttam Balasaheb Patil bagged the bronze with a 78.39m effort.
Asian Games silver medallist Kishore Jena, who has secured a Paris 2024 Olympic quota for India in men’s javelin throw alongside Chopra, endured a disappointing outing at his home venue, finishing fifth with a 75.49m throw.
Bibin Antony took the fourth position with a personal best effort of 77.37m.
Manu DP led the 12-man field in the men’s javelin throw final with the 82.06m clearance for the first three rounds but Neeraj took the pole position with his fourth effort. He didn’t take the last two attempts.
“I competed at Doha a few days back and haven’t recovered properly yet. So, I decided to skip the last two throws. I will be competing again in Czechia in another 10-12 days so I took it easy,” the Champion said.
“It was nice to compete in India after so long. Thanks to all the fans who came out to support us” the world champion added.
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