Devarakeshavi Prakasha Manu Secures Gold Medal in Javelin at Taiwan Athletics Open 2024

Indian athlete DP Manu clinched the gold medal in the men’s javelin throw event at the Taiwan Athletics Open 2024 on Saturday. The tournament, held in Chinese Taipei, saw Manu deliver a stellar performance with a distance of 81.58m on his final attempt, securing the top spot on the podium.

An Asian Athletics Championships silver medallist, DP Manu outperformed his competitors in the javelin throw final. Cheng Chao-tsun from Chinese Taipei, the holder of the Asian record at 91.36m, secured the silver medal with an impressive throw of 76.21m. His compatriot Huang Chao-hung settled for the bronze with a throw of 71.24m. The Taiwan Athletics Open is a World Athletics Continental Tour bronze-level meet, attracting top athletes from around the region.

This victory marks Manu’s third podium finish of the season. He previously won the Indian Grand Prix 1 in April and finished second behind reigning Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra at the Federation Cup last month.

Manu established his lead early in the final with a throw of 78.32m on his first attempt. He improved his distance to 80.59m on the third throw and, despite a foul on his fourth attempt, managed to throw 81.52m on his fifth try. His final and best effort of 81.58m secured his gold medal win. Although impressive, this was slightly short of his season-best mark of 82.06m recorded at the Federation Cup in Bhubaneswar. Manu has yet to meet the Paris 2024 Olympics qualification standard of 85.50m in javelin throw, but athletes can also qualify by ranking among the top 32 in the world by June 30.

DP Manu’s personal best effort remains 84.35m, achieved two years ago.

In other events, India’s Nithya Ramraj won the silver medal in the women’s 100m hurdles, clocking 13.23s. She recorded a personal best of 13.12s in the heats earlier in the day. Nithya finished second behind former world champion and Olympic silver medallist Nia Ali of the USA, who won gold with a timing of 12.80s. The bronze medal went to Bo-Ya Zhang of Chinese Taipei, who clocked 13.28s.

India’s Vismaya VK also made a podium finish, securing the bronze medal in the women’s 400m with a timing of 53.49s. Sri Lanka’s Dilsara Tharushi won the gold in 52.48s, while Yi-Cen Chen of Chinese Taipei took the silver with a time of 53.44s.

The Taiwan Athletics Open meet concludes on Sunday with Indian athletes Nayana James, Dev Meena, Ankesh Chaudhary, and Somnath Chauhan set to compete in their respective events.