Meet Kishore Jena, javelin thrower who almost defeated Neeraj Chopra in Asian Games 2023

India's Neeraj Chopra and Kishore Kumar Jena won the medals at the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou (China) at the 19th Asian Games. Chopra bagged a gold medal in Javelin throw with the best throw of 88.88 metres, while Jena clinched a silver medal with a throw of 87.54m. Jena also defeated India's golden boy Chopra in the game.

Who is Kishore Jena? 

He is an Indian track and field athlete who competes in the javelin. The 28-year-old belongs to Kothasahi village of the Puri district of Odisha. His earlier best throw was 84.77m in the Javelin Throw Final at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest in August 2023. He finished finished 5th in the game.

Kishore jena leading in Javelin final 86.77 m Personal best and Olympic qualified
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He used to play volleyball, but later his coach encouraged him to play Javelin. Jena came to the limelight when he won silver at the national championships in Bhubaneshwar in June 2023. Next month on July 30, the athlete clinched gold in the Sri Lankan National Championships with a personal best of 84.38m. It helped him make the cut through the world ranking quota for the World Athletics Championship.

READ | Asian Games: Neeraj Chopra bags gold medal, Kishore Jena wins Silver in historic 1-2 for India