Meet Kishore Kumar Jena, India's other javelin star

Fresh off his high of winning silver at the Asian Games, Jena speaks to Mint about his extraordinary year

- Deepti Patwardhan

Kishore Kumar Jena is just about catching his breath after a whirlwind few months. At the start of 2023, he was the ninth-best Indian on the World Athletics rankings chart. Today, he stands as the owner of the second-best throw recorded by an Indian and the man who briefly took over the lead from Neeraj Chopra in the men's javelin event at the 2022 Asian Games.

On 4 October in Hangzhou, Chopra was the headline act. But Jena jumped into lead with an 86.77m throw on his third attempt. The throw also helped him breach the qualifying mark of 85m for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Over the past few years, the Chopra show has been entertaining and uplifting enough on its own. But adding another Indian to the mix, seeing him compete as an equal, was even better. Jena didn't quite steal the spotlight; but Chopra was happy to share it. Their duel pushed the Olympic champion to a gold-winning 88.88m throw, while Jena finished with a personal-best of 87.54m and a silver medal.

"Mazza aa raha tha (I was enjoying myself)," he tells Mint, about his Asian Games experience. "Because the competition was between the two of us. There was no pressure on me; I was playing freely. My priority at the time was qualifying for Paris Olympics. We were talking about it the previous night, he said we are going to do well tomorrow, and both of us are going to return with medals. Maine bola pukka bhaisaab, waise hi karenge (I told him that is exactly what we will do)."