Neeraj looks to break new ground, dark horse Sreeshankar eyes glory at World Championships

Eugene (USA), July 14

Neeraj Chopra will carry a billion hopes into the World Championships for yet another landmark result and it shouldn’t be a surprise if long jumper Murali Sreeshankar also grabs a slice of history at the showpiece starting here tomorrow.

Chopra is cherishing phenomenal results this season. From an 89.30 metres throw at the Paavo Nurmi Games to 89.94m at the Diamond League Meeting, the star athlete has improved his personal best twice.

Given the form he is in, the Tokyo Olympics champion is expected to become only the second Indian and first male player from the country to win a medal at the Worlds.

Chopra’s main rival for the gold medal will be the defending champion Anderson Peters of Grenada. Peters is the favourite to win gold as he owns four of the top-five throws this season. His best effort of 93.07m is also the best result this season.

The two qualifying rounds of the men’s javelin throw competition will be held on July 21, while the final will be held two days later.

National record holder long jumper Murali Sreeshankar will be a dark horse as he sits at the joint second place among the season leaders with his 8.36m effort during the Federation Cup in April. He will be seen in action on Friday in the qualifying rounds.

Another Indian, Jeswin Aldrin, who had a wind-assisted 8.37m jump during the Federation Cup, will also be in the fray.

In the men’s 3,000m steeplechase, Avinash Sable will have to improve his timing by several seconds from his national record effort of 8 minutes and 12.48 seconds if he wants to be in contention for a podium finish in a tough field. He will compete in the heats on Friday. — PTI

Day 1

Indians in action

20km race walk: Priyanka Goswami (women’s final) and Sandeep Kumar (men’s final)

3000m steeplechase: Avinash Sable (men’s heats)

Long jump: M Sreeshankar, Muhammed Anees Yahiya and Jeswin Aldrin (men’s qualification)

Shot put: Tajinderpal Singh Toor (men’s qualification)

Race against time: Will Kenyan sprinter make event in time?

Nairobi: Kenyan sprinter Ferdinand Omanyala is in a race to make his race at the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon. The clock is ticking even before the medal contender in the 100 meters is due for his first qualifying heat at Hayward Field tomorrow night.

Omanyala is due to leave Kenya only today because of a delay in receiving his visa to travel to the United States. He’d given up hope of running but the visa was finally issued a day before his race and he will embark on a late dash to make it in time. The flight time from Nairobi to Oregon is 20-plus hours at best. But if all goes well with flight connections, Omanyala thinks he will make it with just a few hours to spare. Omanyala tweeted today that he had his visa and a seat on a flight out of Nairobi. “Am positive that I will compete,” he wrote. “Thanks so much for your support and prayers.” Omanyala gave up hope earlier in the day, when his visa still had not been issued. AP

No more hurdles for record-holder Warholm

World record-holder Karsten Warholm is confident of surging past his rivals as he looks to defend his 400 metres hurdles title at the World Championships despite tearing his hamstring last month. The 26-year-old Norwegian had a stranglehold on the event after a blockbuster 2021 in which he twice broke the world record and took Olympics gold in one of the greatest races of all time. But the injury suffered during the Rabat Diamond League meet in June, his first outing of the season, left him unable to prepare with his usual intensity for the Worlds. “It’s been very challenging because you get this thing and you don’t know how each day will go,” he said. Reuters

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