National javelin throw championship: Depleted field, lack of interest stands out

The 3rd National javelin throw championship has attracted a very thin field of throwers - a total of 16 men and six women - and is poor advertisement for the sport, which gained prominence for a few days post-Tokyo Olympics in the country.

The 3rd National javelin throw championship will be held at the Nehru Stadium complex in New Delhi from Saturday.

After Neeraj Chopra’s gold at Tokyo Olympics, some sections of the media chose to project the javelin throw as the next showpiece event in the domestic competitions. Going by the look at the final participation list of the 3rd National javelin throw championship starting at the Nehru Stadium complex here on Saturday, the projection looks far off the mark. Poor response and the lack of enthusiasm that goes with it, is evident on the eve of the two-day meet. It is understandable that Neeraj is not in the fray but the presence of a lone top-10 thrower - seventh-placed Kishore Kumar Jena - highlights the lack of interest shown by the bigger names. Such a thin field - a total of 16 men and six women - is poor advertisement for the sport, which gained prominence for a few days post-Tokyo Olympics, in the country. Among the men under-20, there are only eight entries. Jay Kumar, who took part in the World juniors in Nairobi is around but Ajayraj Singh is missing. In such a depleted field, there is not much to look forward to. The finals of girls under-16 and under-18 are scheduled on Friday.