Javelin thrower Shivpal qualifies for Tokyo Olympics, joins Neeraj Chopra

Potchefstroom: Indian javelin thrower Shivpal Singh has qualified for his maiden Olympic Games in Tokyo this year by breaching the qualification mark at an event here.

Shivpal became the second Indian javelin thrower after star athlete Neeraj Chopra to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.

The 24-year-old Shivpal crossed the qualifying standard of 85m by hurling the spear to a distance of 85.47m in his fifth attempt to win gold in the ACNW Meeting at the McArthur Stadium late on Tuesday.

"Shivpal Singh qualifies for #Olympics @Tokyo2020 with a performance of 85.47m in Men's Javelin in #SouthAfrica," the Athletics Federation of India tweeted. Another Indian Akshdeep Singh finished third with a best throw of 75m. Four athletes took part in the event.

Chopra had qualified for the Tokyo Games with a throw of 87.86m at another ACNW League meeting here in January. Both of them are currently here for a training stint.

Besides Shivpal and Chopra, men's national record holder 20km race walker KT Irfan, Avinash Sable (men's 3000m steeplechase) and the country's mixed 4x400m relay team have qualified for the Tokyo Games.

National record holder Annu Rani also won the gold with a best throw of 61.15m in women's javelin throw in her first competition of the year. Her effort was, however, well below the Tokyo Olympics qualifying mark of 64m.