Part of Kishore Kumar Jena’s journey from Kothasahi village near Puri to Budapest is destiny; rest is hard work and an insatiable hunger to excel at the world stage.
Seven months ago, Jena did not have a passport. With two days left for the world championships qualification to end, Jena was still six spots away from the cut off. And a day before he was due to fly to Budapest, Jena was not sure if he would get his visa. The hurdles Jena faced just to ensure he stood on the runway in Budapest with javelin in hand could have defeated anyone else.
“When you know you have faced so much difficulty, you compete with a fearless mind,” says Jena’s coach Samarjeet Singh Malhi. “I told him to believe in himself and give his best,” says the national javelin coach.
Jena, 27, didn’t let anything drag him down. He not only qualified for the javelin final at the world championships, he achieved a personal best (84.77m) to finish a creditable fifth. It proved a phenomenal Sunday night for three Indians in the Hungarian capital. The limelight was on Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra — he became India’s first world champion in athletics — but Jena and DP Manu showcased the depth in Indian javelin. Manu, competing in his second world championships, finished sixth (84.14m), behind Jena.
Chopra’s Olympic glory transformed India’s javelin scene, inspiring throwers like Jena, Manu and Rohit Yadav – he was 10th in the 2022 Eugene Worlds but is currently injured — to dream big. Now they are rubbing shoulders with the world’s best; they have Chopra to share his experience and motivate them when the chips are down. During the qualification on Friday, one throw was enough for Chopra to make the cut-off. He was then seen encouraging Manu and Jena as they both made the final. In his interactions, Chopra never forgets to praise their performances. Chopra provides them the encouragement, the feeling that they belong at the world stage.
“He always motivates us. When you have someone like Neeraj bhai standing behind you, morale goes up. We feel even we can achieve what he is doing,” says Manu, who has taken big strides in the last couple of years, consistently going past the 80m mark.
Manu’s rise from a small village in Belur, Karnataka to become Indian javelin’s latest sensation is equally fascinating. His father is a small-time coffee farmer. Till last year, Manu had not taken a flight or set foot outside the country. As a junior, he would travel sleeper class in long distance trains to compete in domestic events. He would manage with one pair of used spikes given by his coach and former international, Kashinath Naik, who spotted his talent and paved the way for his training at the Army Sports Institute in Pune.
“He was tall and had good hand speed. He was throwing good distance without proper training when I saw him in a Khelo India competition. When he came to Pune, he had worn-out spikes and due to financial constraint he could not afford proper ret. ASI backing helped him and now he even has a sponsor,” says Naik.
In the last couple of seasons, with Chopra showing the way, Manu is on a mission. He qualified for the Commonwealth Games and World Championships in Eugene in 2022, his first international season. This year, he has carried forward that confidence, winning silver at the Asian Championships.
Jena says it was Chopra’s elevation at international level that spurred him. The 27-year-old started his sports career late in 2014 at the sports hostel in Bhubaneswar’s Kalinga Stadium. For a brief period, he played volleyball and then took up javelin at the insistence of his coach. But the dream to see himself at the world stage took shape only after seeing Chopra’s success.
“I can’t express what he has done for our sport. Before Neeraj’s gold at the Tokyo Olympics, I was just doing it without any target in mind — bas kar rehe the (just doing it). Everything changed then. There was a goal. It looked realistic that even we can go and win on the world stage,” says Jena.
His first aim was to make it to the national camp because that would mean getting good facilities and diet. He made the cut in 2021 with impressive performances in domestic meets.
“When he came to the camp, Jena had many technical flaws. His run-up was short and he was not getting enough power behind the javelin. His hand speed apart, the most important thing is he is very dedicated and hard working. He has not gone home for two years, even during the competition at his home state in Odisha last month,” says coach Malhi.
Jena emerged as a contender to qualify for the World Championships after winning the Inter-State title with a throw of 82.87m last month to be ranked 42nd in the world. At the Sri Lankan Championships on July 28, it was make-or-break to qualify. Jena got his personal best (84.38m) and surged in world rankings (36) to just make the cut. Still, his dream to compete in Budapest was almost shattered after his visa was cancelled by the Hungary Embassy. It was eventually re-issued with Chopra himself tweeting to request Indian authorities to help out.
“Thanks to Neeraj, he is always there for his compatriots. He has a big heart, and it is his performances that are rubbing off to the second line of Indian throwers who are brimming with confidence,” says Malhi.
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