A look back at results of World Athletics Championships 2022

The Indian contingent finished the tournament with a silver medal.

With the culmination of the biggest event in athletics, the World Athletics Championships, it’s time to look back at the performances of Indian athletes at this mega event. A total of 22 athletes took part in this edition (18 men and 4 women) and 6 participants reached the finals this time, giving India its best-ever finish. Here’s a glance at every athlete’s performance:

Neeraj Chopra’s wins silver, Rohit Yadav also plays finals

India’s pride Neeraj Chopra once again proved that you are never out of the competition till the last moment. After qualifying for the finals of the World Athletics Championship in his single attempt, Chopra faced a tough challenge on Sunday morning while competing against some of the best javelin throwers in the world.

His chances in the finals looked bleak when his first two attempts were ordinary, including a foul. The third attempt was better with 86.37m, but that was not enough to take him into the top 3. All hopes were almost lost till the time that magic happened with Chopra’s fourth attempt. He recorded an 88.13m throw and placed his name at the 2nd spot to confirm silver. His final two attempts were foul, but that hardly mattered as he convincingly gave India its much-awaited medal at the World Championships.

Rohit Yadav was Neeraj Chopra’s compatriot in the Javelin Throw event. He had a fair edition as well, qualifying for the finals alongside Chopra. Though he couldn’t manage to grab a position on the podium, Yadav won hearts with a throw of 80.42m in his first attempt in the qualification round. The 21-year-old will surely improve from here in the upcoming events.

Eldhose Paul created history

Eldhose Paul became the first-ever Indian to reach the finals of the World Athletics Championships in Triple Jump. He finished at ninth position in the finals with a jump of 16.79m. Earlier, he logged a best attempt of 16.68m in the qualifiers to book a place in the medal race.

While Eldhose Paul made it to the mega finale, Abdulla Aboobacker and Praveen Chithraval had a tough time during the qualification round. While Praveen recorded a best leap of 16.49m, Abdulla could only manage 16.45m in the qualifying round. They finished at 17th and 19th place, respectively, out of all the 28 competitors.

Murali Sreeshankar scripted history in men’s Long Jump

Murali Sreeshankar became the first-ever Indian to qualify for the men’s Long Jump finals at the World Championships with a jump of 8m. He finished the medal event in the seventh position but came back with a lot of takeaways. He has been a consistent performer for India this season.

Compatriots to Murali Sreeshankar, Jeswin Aldrin, and Muhammed Anees Yahiya failed to impress in their qualification round. They jumped 7.79m and 7.73m, which was not enough to book a place in the medal event.

Annu Rani showed women can also throw far

https://twitter.com/CircleofS/status/1549922722490109953?s=20&t=yQlKMnyz6BBcE_4CcOBNUw

Javelin Thrower Annu Rani had a decent qualifying round as well as she had the best throw of 59.60m which was enough to take her into the finals. Though she lost in the finals by finishing in the seventh position, her confidence must be higher in the future. She is a national record holder and would surely come back stronger in the upcoming Commonwealth Games.

These were the six athletes who made it to the finals of the World Championships. Below are the remaining participants who failed to impress fans.

Racewalkers and middle-distance runners fall short

Avinash Sable remained medal-less in the championships, but his excellent performance in the qualifying round earned him a place in the finals of the 3000m Steeplechase event. He clocked 8:18.75 in the qualifying but had a disappointing outing in the mega finale with timing of 8:31.75.

Sandeep Kumar and Priyanka Goswami, who was representing India in the 20km race walk event in their respective categories, disappointed everyone. While Priyanka finished at 34th position, Sandeep had an even worse outing to finish 40th in the men’s 20km racewalk.

It feels bad when a good performance keeps you out of the medal race. A similar incident happened with Parul Chaudhary, who gave her personal best in the preliminary round after clocking 9:38.9 seconds but couldn't book a spot in the finals in the 3000m Steeplechase event. She finished 12th in her heats.

Results elsewhere

Relay team had a disappointing outing in Oregon. Rajesh Ramesh got off to a slow start and it all carried on from there only. There was not even a second where it looked like there is a chance. The team clocked 3:07:29, which was a clear sign of disappointment. On the other hand, MP Jabir participated in the 400m hurdles and stood last in his heat and 31st out of 36 overall.

Experiencing pain in the practice sessions, Tajinderpal Singh Toor decided not to take part in the event as he felt it could have made his situation even worse. He was the only shot-putter across genders to qualify for the World Athletics Championship.

Overall, India had a great outing at the World Championships, even after many disappointing events. Six athletes qualified for the finals, and Neeraj Chopra’s silver medal helped India record its best-ever Championships.

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