Neeraj Chopra qualifies for 2024 Olympics by entering World Championships final
Budapest (PTI): Neeraj Chopra on Friday qualified for the 2024 Olympics with a big throw of 88.77m in his first attempt, which also took him to the final of the javelin throw competition at the World Championships here.
The 25-year-old Chopra's qualifying round lasted just a few minutes as he sent the spear to his season's and fourth career-best distance. He was competing in Group A qualification round.
The 2024 Paris Olympics qualifying mark is 85.50m. The qualifying window began on July 1.
Tokyo Olympics champion Chopra has a personal best 89.94, which he had achieved at the Stockholm Diamond League on June 30, 2022.
Those who throw 83m or the top-12 best performers from both Group A and B qualify for the final round to be held on Sunday.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
PM Modi becomes most followed world leader on Instagram with 100 million followers
New Delh (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi has crossed the massive milestone of 100 million followers on Instagram, making him the first world leader and politician to achieve this feat on the platform, officials said on Thursday.
Prime Minister Modi joined Instagram in 2014, and over the past decade, his account has evolved into one of the most engaging digital spaces among global leaders, officials said.
Among major global leaders, Modi now has the highest number of Instagram followers. He has more than twice as many followers as US President Donald Trump on the social media platform.
The combined follower count of the next five major world leaders is still lower than Modi's individual total, officials said.
ALSO READ: Modi ‘more than a friend’, says Netanyahu as he thanks Indian PM for standing by Israel’s side
US President Donald Trump holds the second spot with 43.2 million followers.
He is followed by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto with 15 million followers, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva with 14.4 million followers, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with 11.6 million followers and Argentine President Javier Milei with 6.4 million followers.
This underlines Prime Minister Modi's unmatched global outreach and popularity among the youth across the world, officials noted.
In India, the gap in followers is significant, as Modi is far ahead of other Indian political leaders on Instagram.
The second spot is held by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath with approximately 16.1 million followers, followed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with approximately 12.6 million followers.
