DP Manu wins gold in men's javelin throw at Taiwan Open 2024

India's DP Manu won the gold medal in the men's javelin throw event with a best effort of 81.58 meters at the Taiwan Open 2024 in Taipei on Saturday. 

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The Asian Athletics Championships silver medalist started the Taiwan Open competition with a throw of 78.32 meters, while his second attempt was 76.80 meters. The 24-year-old player raised the level of his game by throwing the javelin 80.59 meters and 81.52 meters in his third and fifth attempts.

Manu could not make a valid throw on his fourth attempt. In the sixth and final attempt, Manu broke his previous record and topped the competition with a best throw of 81.58 meters.

Chinese Taipei's Cheng Chao-tsun won the silver medal with a throw of 76.21 meters, while his compatriot Chao-Hung Huang won the bronze medal with a best effort of 71.24 meters.

Manu finished second behind Neeraj Chopra in Federation Cup

This performance, however, was far from Manu's personal best of 84.35 meters. This is less than his best effort of 82.06 in the current season, which came at the Federation Cup in Bhubaneswar last month. He finished second behind Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra in the Federation Cup.

Manu was the only foreign participant among the 12 contestants taking part in the Taiwan Open. This is a bronze-level tournament on the World Athletics Continental Tour, carrying significant ranking points.

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Manu's focus remains on qualifying for the Paris Games

Manu, who finished sixth in the World Championships last year, is yet to qualify for the Paris Olympics 2024, for which the qualification mark is 85.50 meters. Chopra and Kishore Jena have already qualified for the Olympics.