World Athletics Championships 2023 Finals Highlights: Neeraj Chopra clinches Gold, Parul Chaudhary sets new National Record, Men's 4x400m Relay team finish fifth

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As many as five Indians, including Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra, will eye the gold medal in the World Athletics Championships 2023 final on August 27 (Sunday). While World No. 1 in men’s javelin Neeraj Chopra, DP Manu and Kishore Kumar Jena will be in action in the men’s javelin final, Parul Chaudhary will compete in the women’s 3000m steeplechase final, and the Indian men’s 4x400m relay team will eye history.

This is the first time that three Indians will be in action in the javelin final, while this will also be the first time the Indian men’s 4x400m relay team will take part in the final. It presents India with a golden opportunity to more than double their medal count in the World Athletics Championships history.

Only Neeraj Chopra and Anju Bobby George have medalled for India in the tournament’s history. While Anju won a historic bronze medal in the 2003 edition in Paris in women’s long jump, Neeraj Chopra claimed the silver medal in 2022 in Eugene. No other India have even managed a top-five finish apart from these two.

Chopra, on Sunday, will start as the outright favourite. The reigning Olympic and Diamond League champion needed just one attempt to secure automatic qualification during the preliminary round in men’s javelin. His 88.77m throw in his first attempt was also Chopra’s best throw of the season and the third best throw worldwide this season.

Fellow Indians DP Manu and Kishore Kumar Jena also progressed to the final after finishing sixth and ninth respectively with best attempts of 81.31m and 80.55m.

Parul Chaudhary was the second Indian to qualify for the final of the ongoing World Athletics Championships after Jeswin Aldrin. She advanced to the final after clocking 09:24.29 to set a new personal best.

The Indian men’s relay team, on the other hand, finished second in the 4x400m relay event to qualify for the final. With a historic run, the Indian quartet of Muhammad Anas Yahiya, Amoj Jacob, Muhammad Ajmal and Rajesh Ramesh rewrote the National Record and also set a new Asian record en route to creating history. India clocked 2:59.05 to finish second only behind USA, who were a second ahead.

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