Anju Bobby George, a great athlete, charged the Chinese authorities for “trying to cheat” and “deliberately targeting the Indians” when Neeraj Chopra, an Olympic champion, failed to get his first javelin throw attempt timed during the Asian Games. Chopra appeared to have easily passed the 85-meter threshold, but to his amazement, the effort was not recorded by the referees, and he received no explanation for this. Scroll down to read Was Neeraj Chopra Cheated During Asian Games 2023?
Was Neeraj Chopra Cheated During Asian Games 2023
After earning the gold medal on his fourth try, Chopra told the media, “I’m not sure why they failed to measure my opening toss. The second and third competitors had their throws and their distances were measured immediately after me. I kept wondering what happened to my first throw. I was perplexed since it had never occurred in any of the competitions I had entered up to this point. They may have misplaced my landing mark since they continued looking. Kishore Jena’s second throw was similarly disqualified for crossing the line, but the ruling was eventually overturned. Jena joined Chopra on the podium with his silver-winning performance.
The Athletics Federation of India’s (AFI) senior vice president, Anju Bobby George, charged that the authorities had targeted Indian athletes on purpose.
He said, “They are attempting to defraud us and trouble our athletes. Neeraj made a pretty solid first toss that caused some sort of disruption. To protest there, we phoned Neeraj. The illustrious long jumper claimed that Jena’s throw was also ruled foul when he was one foot off the line.”
Anju believes that competing in China is challenging since the officials there are constantly looking to cause “mischief” and annoy the competitors. He said, “Even though we are the best in running, throwing, and jumping, winning in China is very difficult, so they will do all such mischief and disturb our athletes.”
When asked if there was a specific reason why his initial throw was not measured, Chopra responded, “One of the referees indicated the second athlete following me had taken his throw swiftly. It was an odd circumstance. I’ve been informed that was a pretty excellent throw, measuring 87 to 88 meters. In case your first toss is excellent, you mentally feel relaxed. Later, they informed me that I would receive a second throw for my initial try. Chopra, being the gentleman that he is, agreed.”
“I had no other options, and I felt that debating for too long was pointless. I also believed that it would affect how other contestants would compete. I had to show respect for the other contestants who were waiting as well. Everyone was feeling chilly because of the wind. So I reasoned that I would accept the toss later. The rule says only six throws, but for the first time I got seven throws in a competition,” he chuckled.
The following effort by Chopra measured 82.38m. At the midpoint of three throws, Jena, the second Indian to enter the fight, was in front. But in Chopra’s fourth try to win the gold, he produced a season’s best throw of 88.8 meters.
“I had no other options, and I felt that debating for too long was pointless. I also believed that it would affect how other contestants would compete. I had to show respect for the other contestants who were waiting as well. Everyone was feeling chilly because of the wind. So I reasoned that I would accept the toss later.
“Rule says only six throws, but for the first time I got seven throws in a competition,” he chuckled.
The following effort by Chopra measured 82.38m. At the midpoint of three throws, Jena, the second Indian to enter the fight, was in front. But in Chopra’s fourth try to win the gold, he produced a season’s best throw of 88.8 meters.
With a throw of 87.54 meters in the fourth round, Jena took home silver. Jena secured a berth in the 2024 Olympics, for which 85.50m is the cutoff distance.
The red-carding of 100-meter hurdler Jyothi Yarraji for a false start before her medal was raised from bronze to silver, as well as the non-measuring of Annu Rani’s throw, were only two of the other alleged “cheating” incidents stated by Chopra.
“I felt horrible about how poorly my first throw in such a significant tournament went. Merely saath garbage huwa hey, Jyothi ki saath bhi aisa huwa. Ek toss mey bhi huwa, Jena. There were problems, but in the end, I think we got decent outcomes. Whatever was done, we demonstrated that we were prepared when we arrived.
“Our team should investigate the reasons behind the numerous problems we are having; I have never seen these types of troubles in significant tournaments. After the first throw, I or another athlete may have been psychologically fatigued. Anything is possible. Jyothi engaged in conflict, he added.
According to Anju, Chinese officials are allegedly purposefully pursuing the Indian athletes.
“This is not a little National Championship; it is the Asian Games. I don’t understand why they are doing this, especially when Indians are their primary target. It was planned.” Even one of the long jumper M Sreeshankar’s jumps, in her opinion, wasn’t measured properly. I don’t think that wasn’t 8.19m. One of them raised the alarm since it was considerably better than that. I assume that wasn’t a foul,” he continued.
