One of the most-anticipated events of IAAF World Championships 2017, javelin throw, was turning out to be yet another heartbreak for Indian fans after teenage sensation Neeraj Chopra failed to qualify for the final of the event on Thursday, August 10.
The world junior champion, whose personal best is 86.48m and season's best is 85.63, needed to throw only 83m to meet the automatic qualification mark. However, Neeraj struggled on the big stage in his maiden world meet, managing a best throw of only 82.26m and finishing seventh in Qualification Group A.
Big names had already failed and with Neeraj's disappointing exit, it looked like India would not even manage a decent show in London. However, 26-year-old Davinder Singh Kang seems to have had other ideas.
Davinder, who competed in Qualification Group B, ignited hopes with a throw of 82.22m in his first attempt. It dipped to 82.14m in the second.
The seasoned campaigner was under pressure, but he held his nerves and threw his spear 84.22m to become the first Indian athlete to qualify for Javelin Throw final at the world meet. Davinder finished seventh among the 13 finalists and will be in action on Saturday, August 12 in the final.
"After I came to know that Neeraj did not qualify [for the final round], I wanted to qualify for the final round. I wanted to do something for the country, I wanted to do something which no Indian has done before. By the grace of God, I did something for the country," Davinder said, after his qualification event on Thursday.
While there was a lot of talk about Neeraj, Davinder had been in his junior compatriot's shadow in the lead-up to the world meet.
The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) even persuaded him to skip the world meet. Read on to know more about India's javelin sensation.
Read on to know why and plenty more about the history-maker.
- Davinder Singh Kang was born in 1988 in Punjab.
- Davinder is an Army Naib Subedar. He also coaches junior athletes.
- Davinder missed New Delhi Commonwealth Games due to fractured leg and missed an year of action.
- The 28-year-old also carried an injury during his qualification round on Thursday.
- Davinder qualified for the world meet with a personal best throw of 84.57m in the Patiala Leg of Indian Grand Prix 2017.
- He was left out of the national camp following differences with coaching program, headed by Australian coach Garry Calvert, according to ESPN.
- Davinder was given one lakh rupees for training ahead of Indian Grand Prix by one of his trainee's father.
- He was in fine form this season, coming up with an 83.82m-throw at Federation Cup. He also won a Bronze at Asian Athletics Championships last month in Bhubaneshwar with a throw of 83.29m.
Marijuana controversy
- However, his participation was in doubt after National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) found traces of marijuana in his Indian Grand Prix Delhi leg sample in May.
- Initial tests revealed Davinder marijuana trace exceeded the legal limit of 150 nanograms per millilitre. However, he was not suspended as samples collected during Federation Cup in June were tested to be negative.
- Davinder through was given a notice by the AFI.
- Davinder was even asked by AFI senior officials not to attend the world meet as they feared the country's image would be tarnished if another trace of marijuana is found during London test, according to Sportskeeda.
- AFI kept attempting to stop him from participation and Davinder had to go through a turbulent phase as his London tickets were not dispatched until the day before he started to the world meet.
