Tokyo: Indian javelin star Neeraj Chopra, who cherishes Tokyo’s National Stadium as the stage of his historic Olympic gold in 2021, will return to the venue on Wednesday, aiming for another milestone at the 2025 World Athletics Championships.
Chopra enters the competition as the defending champion, having created history in Budapest two years ago by becoming India’s first-ever world champion in athletics with a throw of 88.17m. Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem had secured silver on that occasion with an effort of 87.82m.
However, the cross-border rivalry intensified in Paris last year when Nadeem dethroned Chopra as Olympic champion with a massive throw of 92.97m, while the Indian settled for a silver with the best effort of 89.45m.
World No. 2 Chopra will be aiming for his third medal at the World Championships, having previously clinched silver in Eugene, USA, three years ago. Earlier this season, he finally crossed the 90m mark with a national record throw of 90.23m in the Diamond League event in Doha, Qatar. However, that effort currently ranks him third on the world list, behind Germany’s Julian Weber and Brazil’s Luiz da Silva.
The men’s javelin field looks stacked, with three athletes having surpassed 90m this year and another five who have done so in past seasons.
A total of 37 competitors, divided into two groups, will compete for 12 spots in Thursday’s final, with the automatic qualification standard set at 84.50m. Chopra, 27, begins his campaign in Group A, while Nadeem is placed in Group B.
India will also be represented by Sachin Yadav (Group A), along with Rohit Yadav and Yashvir Singh (Group B).
Leading the global contenders is Julian Weber, the in-form Diamond League champion and current season leader with a throw of 91.51m. The field also boasts two-time world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada, 2012 Olympic gold medallist Keshorn Walcott (Trinidad and Tobago), and Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch of Czechia, making the competition in Tokyo even more formidable.
Asian Games gold medallist Annu Rani will spearhead India’s challenge in the women’s javelin throw.
Rani, who has recorded a season-best effort of 62.59m, faces a formidable field that includes reigning World Champion Haruka Kitaguchi of Japan, Austria’s world leader Victoria Hudson with a 67.76m throw, and Serbia’s Adriana Vilagos, who has reached 67.22m this season. (IANS)
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