Paris 2024 Olympics: What is Kishore Jena's personal best in javelin throw?
Kishore Jena will be a medal contender for India in the men's shot put event at Paris Olympics 2024. Jena will be seen in action on August 2, the day when the preliminary round of the event will take place.
Jena produced his personal best performance in the 2022 Asian Games at Hangzhou. He secured a silver medal with a throw of 87.54m, just behind Neeraj Chopr, who won gold with an attempt of 88.88. This performance helped him to secure India's second quota for the event in the Games.
Before the tournament, he had secured a gold medal in the national championships in Bhubaneshwar with a throw of 79.96m. He returned with a throw of 84.38 Sri Lankan Championships, and then bested it with a throw of 84.77m in the World Athletics Championships in Budapest.
In 2024, Kishore Jena has had underwhelming performances, where he has had top-3 finishes in only two out of the four events. He had a ninth-place finish at the Seashore Group Doha Meeting with a throw of 76.31m. Then, he finished fifth in the Federation Cup, held in Bhubaneswar with a throw of 75.49m.
The 28-year-old then secured a bronze at the Inter State Athletics Championships in Panchkula with a throw of 80.84m, which was his best attempt this year.
Neeraj Chopra's gold in Tokyo Olympics pushed Kishore Jena to achieve big in javelin throw
As Neeraj Chopra became the first Indian athlete to win gold in the track and field events in the Tokyo Olympics, whole country along with Kishore Jena celebrated his achievement.
However, Jena recently revealed that deep down, he also wanted to achieve something big in life. However, the performances in the World Athletics Championships in Budapest and Asian Games brought back his confidence.
"When Neeraj won at the Olympics, we celebrated and enjoyed his victory. But honestly, the victory also left me dejected because I too was playing the same sport. I felt it was time for me to achieve something in sports," Jena said on 'The Dreamers' show on JioCinema.
He added:
"I performed well in the World Championships as well, achieving a personal best of 84.77m. I followed it up with another personal best of 87.54m at the Asian Games securing my ticket to Paris 2024. I now want to give my best at Paris. I am quite confident. While I haven't set any particular targets, I am aiming to improve my personal best."
Although, Kishore Jena has been struggling to cross the 80m mark, he will look to make a turnaround and deliver a strong performance in his debut Olympics campaign.