Javelin Thrower Kishore Jena Set to Kickstart Season At Indian Open Athletics Meet

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The 2022 Asian Games medalist Kishore Jena is set to begin his 2025 season at the upcoming 4th Indian Open Athletics Meet in Chennai on 15th April. Kishore missed competitions such as the National Games, Indian Grand Prix 1, and the 3rd Indian Open Athletics Meet due to an ankle injury.

This is the final competition before the Federation Cup. As per AFI rules, athletes who do not compete in at least one Grand Prix or Open meet will be ineligible for the Federation Cup.

2023 - A STAR IS BORN

Looking back at the Inter State Athletics Championships in 2023, Kishore broke his personal best of 81.05m with a throw of 82.87m. But destiny had something even bigger in store for him.

Kishore went on to improve his personal best further, achieving an impressive throw of 84.38m. These outstanding performances earned him a spot in the 2023 World Athletics Championships held in Budapest, Hungary. Jena almost missed the flight to Budapest after his visa was denied but eventually travelled to Budapest after intervention by the Indian government.

Competing in what was his first-ever major international competition, Kishore Jena held his nerves and came up with yet another impressive performance. While Neeraj Chopra won the event in Budapest, Jena logged 84.77m, yet another personal best, to finish a credible fifth, just ahead of another Indian, DP Manu.

Jena's throw at Budapest was just 1.90m short of bronze medallist Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic. Kishore Jena's best showing, however, was yet to come. Having pipped Manu DP to become the second Indian men's javelin thrower, alongside Chopra, to make the team to Hangzhou 2023, Kishore Jena proved his mettle with a silver medal on his Asian Games debut.

While Neeraj Chopra expectedly won the gold medal with an 88.88m throw, Jena made a match out of it, breaking his own personal best twice in the same competition. The first - an 86.77m with his third throw - even saw Jena temporarily overtake Chopra in the leaderboard. Jena bettered his personal best to 87.54m with his fourth attempt but was outdone by Chopra's monster 88.88m in the same sequence.

The 87.54m throw stands as the second-best mark ever recorded by an Indian javelin thrower, surpassed only by Neeraj Chopra, who holds the national record with a personal best of 89.94m.

Thanks to his performance at the Asian Games, Jena secured a quota for the Paris 2024 Olympics but fell short of reaching the finals in his debut appearance.

DIP IN FORM IN 2024

When javelin thrower Kishore Jena threw 81.05m at the Indian Grand Prix in 2023, athletics fans and javelin enthusiasts assumed that a new javelin thrower had been born. His best throw of 87.54m at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, got him the silver. And that remains his high point. Then things badly nosedived for Jena in 2024.

2024 turned into a nightmare for Kishore Jena as he struggled to cross the 80m mark. For a javelin thrower who had achieved an impressive 87.54m at the Asian Games, this performance fell far below his usual standards. During the season, Kishore managed to cross 80m only twice, with his season-best throw of 80.84m coming at the Inter State Athletics Championships.

His performances went from bad to worse when he failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics final, finishing 9th in the qualification round with a best throw of 80.73m.

2025 - A FRESH START FOR KISHORE JENA

After making a comeback from his ankle injury, Jena will look to deliver a strong performance at the 4th Indian Open Athletics Meet tomorrow. At 29, the year 2025, will be a crucial year for Jena. This year could mark a fresh chapter in his athletics career. Time may be running out, but this could still be the perfect moment.