Olympic-bound Kishore Jena recently revealed his desire to give his best at the upcoming Olympics without holding too many expectations.
Speaking about Neeraj Chopra’s triumph at Tokyo, Jena said, “We celebrated and enjoyed his victory. But honestly, the victory also left me dejected because I too was playing the same sport. I felt it was time for me to achieve something in sports.”
Bad form and inconsistency meant that Jena was unable to make a breakthrough, leading him to the verge of quitting the sport last year.
Out of 1⃣1⃣3⃣ 🇮🇳 athletes going to Paris, 6⃣8⃣ are going to make their first Olympic appearance. #Question: Which of the rookies do you expect to comeback with a medal around their necks?
A thread looking at all the debutants in the past who won a medal for India.
(1/5)
— The Bridge (@the_bridge_in) July 16, 2024
But thanks to his father’s advice, he kept pushing and finally got his chance to shine.
“I decided the event in Sri Lanka would be my last attempt, after which I would quit and go back to prioritizing work and family. With God’s grace, I performed well, producing a throw of 84.38m, which led to my qualification for the World Championships.”
That was a turning point for Jena. Qualifying through the ranking quota, he achieved a personal best in Budapest.
“I performed well in the World Championships, achieving a personal best of 84.77m,” Jena said. He finished fifth in the final, while Chopra won the gold with 88.17m.
He followed that up with a silver medal at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, which paved the way for his Paris qualification.
“I followed it (World Championships) up with another personal best of 87.54m at the Asian Games, securing my ticket to Paris 2024.”
Ahead of the Olympics, Jena is going through a lean patch, having crossed the 80m mark just once in the six events he has taken part in after the World Championships.
His 80.84m bronze medal-winning throw at the National Inter-State Championships in Panchkula in June is his best so far this season.
But Jena is not putting himself under too much pressure heading into the Olympic Games.
“I now want to give my best at Paris. I am quite confident. While I haven’t set any particular targets, I am aiming to improve my personal best,” he concluded.