Paris: India’s Kishore Jena finished ninth in the men’s javelin throw Group A qualification round at the Olympics with a throw of 80.73m, putting him at risk of an early departure.
To advance to the final on Thursday, competitors must either achieve a throw of 84m or be among the top 12 performers from Groups A and B combined.
Jena started with a throw of 80.73m, followed by a foul on his second attempt, and ended with 80.21m on his final throw.
Julian Weber of Germany led Group A with an 87.76m throw, while Julius Yego of Kenya, a former world champion, and Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic, the Tokyo Olympics silver medallist, placed second and third with throws of 85.97m and 85.63m, respectively.
Finland’s Toni Keranen was the fourth athlete to surpass the automatic qualification mark with a throw of 85.27m.
Jena secured his spot at the Olympics with an 87.54m throw, earning a silver medal at the Asian Games last October. Since then, he has only surpassed the 80m mark once in six competitions before Tuesday.
