Guwahati: Both Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem failed to progress in the final round of the World Athletics Championships held in Tokyo.Earlier, Neeraj’s long-time rival from Pakistan, Arshad Nadeem, exited the event after finishing in 10th place, thereby missing out on a podium chance.
India’s javelin ace, Neeraj Chopra, who was positioned 8th at the time, needed to climb to at least 6th place after the fifth round to remain in contention.Chopra entered the competition aiming to retain his World Championships crown on Thursday in Tokyo, Japan.He was eyeing a historic feat to become only the third man to successfully defend his javelin world title, following in the footsteps of Czech legend Jan Zelezny and Grenadian thrower Anderson Peters.
Neeraj advanced to the final with just one valid attempt during the qualification round held the previous day.
His first and only throw measured 84.80m, crossing the automatic qualification benchmark of 84.50m, thereby ensuring his place in the title round. Fellow Indian Sachin Yadav also made the cut with a throw of 83.67m, while Rohit Yadav and Yashvir Singh were unable to move past the qualifying stage.
Notably, this marked the first meeting between Neeraj Chopra and Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem since the 2024 Paris Olympics.
At that Olympic showdown, Arshad seized the gold medal with a mammoth throw of 92.97m, while Neeraj secured the silver with a best effort of 89.45m.
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