Neeraj Chopra time at world C'ships

Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra will begin his title defence at the World Athletics Championships on Wednesday, stepping into a blockbuster javelin field stacked with global stars, including Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem and Germany’s Julian Weber. Chopra, 27, is eyeing history. If he succeeds, he will become only the third male javelin thrower to defend a World Championship crown, joining his coach and Czech legend Jan Zelezny (1993, 1995) and Grenada’s Anderson Peters (2019, 2022). Chopra won gold at the 2023 edition in Budapest with a throw of 88.17m.

This time, though, the road is far tougher. The field includes Olympic champion Nadeem, who stunned Chopra at the Paris 2024 Games with a mammoth 92.97m effort. Chopra had to settle for silver with 89.45m. They will not meet in Wednesday’s qualification round, having been placed in separate groups, but a final-round clash looms on Thursday. Weber, meanwhile, enters as the man in form. The Diamond League champion has been the most consistent this season, hurling beyond 90m on three occasions and leading the world charts with 91.51m. He also enjoys a 3-1 head-to-head advantage over Chopra this year, including victory at the Diamond League Final last month where the Indian managed only 85.01m for second place. Adding to the intrigue is Grenada’s Peters, Kenya’s former world champion Julius Yego, 2012 Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago, veteran Czech Jakub Vadlejch, and Brazil’s Luiz da Silva, another 90m thrower.

India will also make history in Tokyo by fielding its largest-ever contingent in men’s javelin at the Worlds. Alongside Chopra, Sachin Yadav, Yashvir Singh, and Rohit Yadav will compete, highlighting the country’s growing strength in the discipline. Chopra qualified as defending champion, while the others made the cut through world rankings. Chopra has been drawn in Group A alongside Weber, Walcott, Vadlejch, and compatriot Sachin Yadav. Group B will feature Nadeem, Peters, Yego, Da Silva, Rohit Yadav, Yashvir Singh, and Sri Lanka’s rising star Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage. The qualification mark is 84.50m, or a place among the top 12, to progress to Thursday’s final.

Form remains a question mark for Chopra. Though he breached the 90m barrier with a 90.23m throw at the Doha Diamond League in May, he has also endured some inconsistent outings. He has fallen short of 85m twice, logged just over 85m on two occasions, and managed one 86m-plus throw. His second-best effort this year stands at 88.16m. Nadeem, 28, arrives in Tokyo with limited match practice. After winning Asian Championship gold in May with 86.40m, he underwent calf surgery in England and has competed only once since his Paris Olympic triumph. Yet, his ability to produce on the big stage cannot be doubted as he showed in Paris with minimal build-up.

For Indian fans, the men’s javelin is once again the marquee event. At Budapest last year, three Indians made the final Chopra (gold), Kishore Jena (5th), and DP Manu (6th) a performance that underlined India’s growing dominance. Now, all eyes turn to Tokyo, where Chopra will seek to script another golden chapter on the very turf where he captured Olympic glory in 2021.