Kishore Kumar Jena made Odisha proud, winning gold medal in mens group of the 3rd National Open Javelin Throw Championships at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi today. He came up with the three best throws to dominate the final.

This was the first National gold medal for 26-year-old Jena, who achieved it with a 74.26m effort on his second attempt. Harish Kumar (Rajasthan) and seasoned Vipin Kasana (Delhi) took silver and bronze with their fifth and sixth throws respectively. Vijay Lakra (Jharkhand) moved out of the medal bracket after he looked good for a podium place until Vipin Kasana’s last-ditch try.

An employee of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Jena had won gold medal with New State Record in the 68 th Odisha State Senior Athletics Championship at Kalinga Stadium Bhubaneswar on 7 September 2021. He had bettered his own state record with a throw of 76.41m.

The National championship featured competition in eight categories _ men, women, under-20 boys and girls, under-18 boys and girls and under-16 boys and girls. Uttar Pradesh and Haryana dominated the championship, bagging 10 and nine medals respectively.

Uttar Pradesh captured five gold, three silver and two bronze, while Haryana secured one gold, three silver and five bronze medals in the two-day championships.
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PHOTO: Kishore Kumar Jena at the 3rd National Open Javelin Throw Championships in New Delhi on 24 October 2021.