Who is Kishore Jena: Indian javelin thrower capable of thriving in the big league

In the age of Neeraj Chopra, it’s hard to imagine another Indian javelin thrower making the headlines but Odisha’s Kishore Jena did just that at the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou, the People’s Republic of China.

Though Kishore Jena eventually finished with a silver medal behind compatriot Chopra in Hangzhou, the man from the coastal town of Puri gave his more accomplished countryman, the reigning Olympic and world champion, stiff competition for the top spot.

Heading into Hangzhou, Jena’s name was known to only a few dedicated athletics fans in India but he returned from China as a new star - quite an accomplishment for someone who only took up javelin throw full-time just a few years ago.

Where is Kishore Kumar Jena from

Born in the Kothasahi village near Puri in Odisha on September 6, 1995, Kishore Kumar Jena is the youngest of seven children, preceded by six sisters, born to Keshab Jena, a paddy farmer, and his wife Harapriya.

In an effort to support his family, Jena chose sports as a career option. His goal was to try and land a job with the Indian Army through sports quota.

Javelin throw, however, was not his first choice. It was volleyball. His talents as a volleyball player landed him at the Odisha government’s Sports Hostel in Bhubaneswar.

It was here where Kishore Jena was introduced to the javelin by Laxman Baral, a former Odisha state champion. Impressed with Jena while watching him play volleyball, Baral gifted him a hand-made javelin made of bamboo which cost Rs 250, roughly 3 US dollars.

Besides continuing with his volleyball practice, Jena started training in the javelin throw under coach Nilamadhab Deo at the Bhubaneswar sports hostel and won several medals in college events.

In the meantime, Jena’s medium height impeded his growth as a volleyball player. He is 5 feet 8 inches tall. It was at this juncture that the Odisha athlete decided to put more focus on javelin throw. He even rewrote the state record with a 72.77m throw in 2017.

Incidentally, it was his talent with the javelin which landed him a job with the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) at Bhopal in 2018. The employment was much-needed for Jena to support his family as his father Keshab met with an accident the same year, which left him partially paralysed and unable to farm.

While Jena was content with focusing on his job and winning medals at police events for his employers, Jagbir Singh, a throwing events coach at CISF, was convinced that Kishore Jena was destined for bigger and better things.

“Those days, nothing was going right, except my job,” Jena revealed to the New Indian Express. “My father was serious after the accident. I couldn’t concentrate on my game and family responsibilities were growing.”

His mental condition saw Jena struggle to get past the 75m mark in any of his events. Jagbir Singh, however, kept faith and promised Jena he would recommend him for the national camp at Patiala if he could get past the barrier.

Jena finally made the cut by throwing over 76 metres at the Odisha State Championships in 2021 and followed up with a 77 metres-plus at the inter-state championship in Chennai in June the following year. Jena made it to the national camp.

It turned out to be a game-changer for Jena. With Samarjeet Singh Malhi, an Asian Athletics Championship bronze medallist, as his coach and a proper diet and training schedule, which were ignored due to his financial difficulties until then, Jena’s skills found a new dimension.

There was no stopping Kishore Jena anymore and the achievements followed.

Kishore Jena’s best throws

In his last competitive outing of 2022 at the National Open Athletics Championships in Bengaluru, Jena won a bronze medal with a new personal best of 78.05m.

In 2023, Jena took his game to another level. He started the season with a gold at the Indian Open Throws Competition in Bellary, improving his personal best to 78.93m.

At the 2023 Indian Grand Prix in Thiruvananthapuram, Kishore Jena breached the 80m barrier for the first time. He clinched yet another gold with an 81.05m throw.

He improved his mark to 82.87m for a silver at the nationals in Bhubaneswar and handily won the men’s javelin throw competition at the Sri Lanka nationals with an 84.38m haul.

The host of impressive performances saw Jena make the cut for the World Athletics Championships 2023 in Budapest, Hungary.

Jena almost missed the flight to Budapest after his visa was denied but eventually travelled to Budapest after intervention by the Indian government.

Neeraj Chopra, who Kishore Jena regards as his idol despite being older than him, also had a big part to play in helping Jena acquire his visa.

“I was moved when Neeraj bhai messaged me personally during my visa issue and asked me not to get worried,” Jena told the Hindu. “It was a crisis moment, and I was tense about my visa, but he spoke to me and assured me that I would join the team. He was constantly there with me throughout, and I was very touched by his gesture.”

Competing in what was his first-ever major international competition, Kishore Jena held his nerves and came up with yet another impressive performance. While Chopra won the event in Budapest, Jena logged 84.77m, yet another personal best, to finish a credible fifth, just ahead of another Indian, DP Manu.

Jena’s throw at Budapest was just 1.90m short of bronze medallist Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic.

Kishore Jena’s best showing, however, was yet to come.

Having pipped Manu DP to become the second Indian men’s javelin thrower, alongside Chopra, to make the team to Hangzhou 2023, Kishore Jena proved his mettle with a silver medal on his Asian Games debut.

While Neeraj Chopra expectedly won the gold medal with an 88.88m throw, Jena made a match out of it, breaking his own personal best twice in the same competition.

The first - an 86.77m with his third throw - even saw Jena temporarily overtake Chopra in the leaderboard. Jena bettered his personal best to 87.54m with his fourth attempt but was outdone by Chopra’s monster 88.88m in the same sequence.

The 87.54m attempt was also the second-best mark logged by any Indian javelin thrower. Only Neeraj Chopra, whose personal best of 89.94m is the Indian national record, has managed better throws.

Courtesy of his Asian Games performance, Jena earned a quota to Paris 2024 Olympics but failed to make the final on his Games debut.

Kishore Jena’s medals and achievements

• Asian Games - Silver medal (2023)
• World Athletics Championships - Fifth (2023)
• Personal best - 87.54m (second-best mark by an Indian javelin thrower)
• Paris 2024 Olympian