Devarakeshavi Prakasha Manu, who is better known as DP Manu, was born on 24 January in 2000 and hails from the city of Hassan in Karnataka. DP Manu competes in the javelin throw for India in track and field events.
The 23-year-old Manu was trained by Kashinath Naik in Pune from the year 2020.
“Manu had arrived here (Army Sports Institute, Pune) he was in the 65m range but I took him because he had good height, explosiveness and good body coordination. Technique is something that can be worked on but to find someone with inherent qualities of a good thrower is tough," Kashinath was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.
Kashinath Naik then worked his magic on DP Manu, albeit after some initial resistance from the ‘higher-ups’.
Come June 2022, DP Manu registered his personal best with a throw of 84.35m, as he went on to win the Inter-State championships in Chennai, making him the fourth-best Indian javelin thrower of all time.
He also won the Indian national championships in Bengaluru, with a throw of 81.23m to take top spot, in June 2022 ahead of Rohit Yadav.
In fact, in the year 2022, DP Manu managed to produce throws in excess of the 80m mark five out of the nine competitions, showcasing his consistency.
Later in the year, DP Manu represented India at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, his first international event. He finished fifth in the javelin event with his best effort reading 82.28m.
DP Manu in 2023 won the silver at the Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok as he threw over 81 metres, punching his ticket to the World Athletic Championship, being held in Budapest, Hungary.
In the qualifiers of the Javelin Throw event at the World Athletic Championship, DP Manu finished third in his group and sixth overall with a best throw of 81.31m which he produced in his second attempt.
In fact, DP Manu will be joining Neeraj Chopra and Kishore Jena in the final.
Neeraj Chopra’s qualifying round lasted just a few minutes as he sent the spear to his season’s best distance of 88.77m in his very first attempt in the Group A qualification round. He topped the qualification round.
Jena, whose visa was rejected first by the Hungarian embassy in New Delhi before being cleared the next day, ended fifth in Group B and ninth overall with 80.55m. It is also his debut World Championships.
“For the first time three Indians have qualified for the final round of an event in World Championships. It has never happened earlier. It’s a historic day for Indian javelin," a team coach in the Indian contingent told PTI.
India first participated in the World Championships in 1983. A competitor gets three attempts in the qualifying round.
(With inputs from Agencies)