India's Commonwealth Games campaign gathered momentum on Thursday as Neeraj Chopra qualified for the men's javelin throw final after producing a best effort of 79.61m at Scotstoun Stadium in Glasgow. Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem also progressed, setting up another eagerly anticipated meeting between the Olympic rivals in the medal event.
Chopra finished fifth overall in the qualification standings after opening with a throw of 76.28m before improving to 79.61m on his second attempt. With a place in the final all but secured, the reigning world champion elected to pass on his third and final throw.
India enjoyed an impressive outing overall, with all three of its representatives advancing to the 12-man final. Rohit Yadav qualified in ninth place with a best throw of 78.37m, while Yash Vir Singh snatched the final Indian qualification spot in 10th after improving to 78.36m with his third attempt.
Nadeem, the reigning Olympic and Commonwealth Games champion, finished seventh with a season's best effort of 78.63m. Although the Pakistani was unable to improve on his opening mark, it proved sufficient to comfortably secure his place in the final alongside Chopra.
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The qualification round proved unusually subdued, with none of the 18 competitors managing to surpass the automatic qualifying standard of 84.00m. As a result, all 12 finalists advanced based on their best legal throws rather than the direct qualification mark.
Sri Lanka's Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage emerged as the top performer in qualifying with a best throw of 82.84m, while Grenada's two-time world champion Anderson Peters also progressed after recording 81.29m. Former Olympic and world champion Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago advanced as well despite registering a modest 78.26m.
The challenging weather conditions at Scotstoun Stadium played a significant role in keeping distances below expectations. Gusty, swirling winds made both the run-up and release difficult, forcing several athletes to battle a headwind throughout the competition.
The conditions were best illustrated by Sri Lanka's Sumedha Ranasinghe, who failed to record a single legal throw after all three of his attempts landed outside the permitted sector.
With qualification now complete and all marks wiped clean for the medal event, the 12 finalists will begin on level terms when the men's javelin throw final gets underway in the early hours of Saturday (12:45 AM IST), with Chopra and Nadeem once again expected to headline the battle for gold.
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