2022 Asian Games: Neeraj Chopra robbed off a huge throw due to alleged incompetency of Chinese officials

Earlier, Jyoti Yarraji was also caught in a controversial decision before going on to win silver in Hangzhou.

2022 Asian Games: Neeraj Chopra robbed off a huge throw due to alleged incompetency of Chinese officials

Neeraj Chopra (R) after alleged controversy in men's javelin final at 2022 Asian Games.

Reigning Olympic and World Champion Neeraj Chopra was controversially robbed of the first throw he took in the men’s javelin throw final at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou. Neeraj, who was second on the list, came up with a massive throw that looked well beyond the 87-meter mark. 

However, his throw was not taken on record as the officials were unable to calculate the distance. As a result, Neeraj was forced to retake his first throw, which went just over 82 meters, a low distance as per the standards set by the poster boy of India. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ra1QJ7R9zSQ

This hasn’t gone down too well with everybody, especially Indian supporters, who have come down heavily on the officials for such a grave mistake on a stage as big as that of the Asian Games.

FS Video

The foul play happened not only with Neeraj but with other Indian in the fray, Kishore Jena’s throw too. Jena’s second attempt was clearly valid as he was way behind the danger line; however, the official raised the red flag and marked that attempt as a foul. At the end, though, after Neeraj and Jena protested, the throw was marked as valid. 

It has not been the first time that India has been involved in foul play from the officials in Hangzhou, especially in athletics. Three days ago, Jyoti Yarraji was disqualified for a false start in the women’s 100-meter hurdles final along with a Chinese athlete.

On lodging the protest, the two women were allowed to race, and their final result was subject to a review of the race. Yarraji, who finished third, was eventually upgraded to the second position after it was decided that it was only the Chinese athlete who had a false start. 

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Netizens have gone berserk; call it a ‘Cheap Chinese propaganda’

India is destined to finish 1-2 in the men’s javelin final after Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem withdrew from the event due to a knee injury. However, this controversy has caught Neeraj off guard and has definitely thrown the competition wide open. This has not only angered the netizens but has also let them come in support of their beloved athlete.

Jyothi Yarraji (L) protesting against disqualification in women’s 100m hurdles final at 2022 Asian Games.

Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, netizens have lashed out at Chinese officials for such pedestrian officiation of the competition. A user has written that the Chinese are cheaters and can never change. Another has also taken note of Jena’s incident and mentioned that controversy too. 

Neeraj, the Olympic champion, has now had enough experience to deal with such controversies, and it would be interesting to see whether he will come back from this and defend the gold that he won in 2018 in Jakarta.

The field is not strong enough, and despite a sub-par 82+ throw, only Jena can challenge this distance among the remaining competitors. So even if the gold isn’t confirmed, Neeraj is almost sure to return with a medal from Hangzhou. But Neeraj, being the personality, will not settle for less than anything other than a gold medal. 

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