India's Neeraj Chopra Creates History with Stunning Javelin Gold Triumph, Despite Controversial Officiating

The Hangzhou Asian Games' track and field competition experienced yet another controversy on Wednesday as officials neglected to acknowledge Olympic and world champion Neeraj Chopra's initial impressive throw. Ultimately, despite this setback, Chopra managed to secure the Asiad gold medal by achieving a distance of 88.88 meters on his fourth recorded attempt. However, prior to this, he had been trailing his fellow Indian and competitor, Kishore Jena, posing a potential risk of losing the gold due to the prevailing confusion.

Chopra, the second competitor in the final, made a powerful throw that seemed to exceed 85m. However, the distance did not immediately appear on the digital board. Before the issue could be resolved, the following athlete made his throw. Surprisingly, Chopra's name continued to be displayed on the digital board and the Games' official online information and results service, suggesting that he had not yet made his first throw.

A peculiar delay followed, during which officials began conversing amongst themselves. Chopra soon approached them to express his protest, as he was convinced that his throw had been commendable.

"I genuinely have no clue what transpired," he informed reporters. "I contested with them because it was an exceptional throw. I repeatedly inquired about the details, asking, 'What happened, what happened?' I approached them six times."

Chopra was able to recover from the mistake to win the gold medal.

Tingshu Wang/Reuters

After several minutes, several officials on the field gathered around the area close to where Chopras javelin landed and prodded several areas with their feet.

"I was eager to comprehend the situation," he expressed.

"They persisted in searching for the indication, but they failed to locate it. Personally, it appeared to me like an exceptional throw. I will review the video later to confirm its accuracy; although, I am unsure of the exact distance achieved. Nevertheless, I have been informed that it was truly impressive."

"So I was a little disappointed because it was a good throw, and there was a good wind behind me as well."

An official grimaces in agony as Ali Zankawi (L) hurls a stray hammer, severely injuring the official's leg during the men's hammer throw final athletics event at the 2022 Asian Games. Struggling to control the bleeding, Zankawi rushes to provide immediate aid.

The athletics official hit by a hammer is in stable condition. According to Chopra, there could have been a technical issue or they may not have completed measuring his initial throw before the next athlete made theirs.

"They granted me another opportunity for the initial throw. With the disturbance caused to the other competitors, I had no alternative. Considering the windy conditions and everyone's cooldown period, I proposed redoing my first throw."

"According to the rules, the limit was six throws; however, I made a total of seven throws."

Neither Chopra nor his 75-year-old coach Klaus Bartonietz have ever experienced this kind of occurrence during a competition.

"We simply observed that there was no result, no result, as they removed it and re-measured the other one... unfortunate events sometimes occur," Bartonietz expressed.

The training results showed promising outcomes, validating his abilities and capabilities. However, their positive momentum was abruptly disrupted by the interference of another individual, resulting in undesirable consequences.

The officials expressed their dissatisfaction with this occurrence as it reflects poorly on their reputation.

Earlier this week, in the final of the women's 100m hurdles, Wu Yanni from China protested against a false start she was accused of, resulting in a considerable delay to the race. Despite being later disqualified, she still chose to participate.

On Saturday, an athletics official sustained a broken leg and severe bleeding when struck by a hammer that was mistakenly thrown in the wrong direction.