Asian Games 2023: Neeraj Chopra's first throw goes unmeasured, Anju accuses Chinese officials of cheating

A major controversy erupted during Olympic champion Neeraj Chopras javelin throw event at the ongoing Asian Games 2023 when his first attempt was not measured This incident prompted the legendary Anju Bobby George to accuse the Chinese officials of trying to cheat and deliberately targeting the IndiansIt seemed Chopra had comfortably cleared the 85m mark but to his surprise the effort was not recorded by the officials and he was not given any reason for thatI dont know why they did not measure my first throw Just after me the second and third competitors had their throws and their distance were measured I kept on asking what happened to my first throw Chopra told reporters after winning gold medal on his fourth attemptI was puzzled and confused it has never happened in any competition I have competed in till now I think they lost my landing mark and they kept on looking for itKishore Jena who joined Chopra on the podium with his silverwinning effort also had his second throw invalidated for crossing the line but the decision was later reversedAnju Bobby George the senior vice president of the Athletics Federation of India AFI accused the officials of deliberately targeting the IndiansThey are trying to cheat us and trying to disturb our athletes Neerajs first throw was a very good throw and it was a kind of disturbance We called Neeraj to protest there itself Jenas throw also called foul when he was one foot behind the line the legendary long jumper allegedAnju reckons that winning in China is difficult as their officials are always up for some mischief and disturb the athletesWinning in China is very difficult so though we are best runner thrower jumper they will do all such mischief and disturb our athletesAsked if the officials gave any reason for not measuring his first throw Chopra said One of the officials said the second athlete after me had taken his throw quickly It was a bizarre situationI am told that it was a very good throw probably 8788m Mentally you feel relieved if your first throw is very good Later they told me I will be given another throw for the first attemptAlso Read Neeraj Chopra The spear superman of Indian athleticsA perfect gentleman he is Chopra agreed to itI did not have any other means I thought there was no point arguing for long I also thought its affecting the competition of other competitors The other competitors were waiting and I need to respect them also The wind was blowing and everybody was feeling cold So I thought I will take the throw laterRule says only six throws but for the first time I got seven throws in a competition he said with a laughChopras next attempt measured 8238m Jena the second Indian in the fray was leading at the halfway mark of three throws But Chopra came up with a seasons best throw of 888m in his fourth attempt to win the goldJena won the silver with his fourth round throw of 8754m Jena booked 2024 Olympics spot for which the qualifying mark is 8550mChopra cited several other instances of alleged cheating including the redcarding of 100m hurdler Jyothi Yarraji for false start before her medal was upgraded from bronze to silver and not measuring of Annu Ranis throwI felt bad that my first throw in such a big competition went like that Jyothi ki saath bhi aisa huwa mere saath garbar huwa hey Jena ka ek throw mey bhi huwa So there were issues but finally I would say our results were good Despite whatever has been done we have shown that we came preparedOur team should certainly look into why there are so many issues we are facing I have never seen these kinds of things in big competitions I or some other athlete could have been mentally down after the first throw Anything could happen Jyothi also fought he saidAnju also alleged that Chinese officials are deliberately targeting the Indian athletesThis is Asian Games not a small National Championship I dont know why they are doing this and especially they are targeting Indians It was deliberateShe even felt that one of long jumper M Sreeshankars jumps wasnt accurately measuredI doubt it was not 819m It was much better than that and one of them raised the red flag It was not a foul I guessWith agency inputs