Tokyo
Indian javelin superstar Neeraj Chopra will begin his World Championship title defence with the qualification round in Tokyo, taking on a blockbuster field that also features Olympic gold-winning Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan and Diamond League champion Julian Weber of Germany. Chopra will aim to become the third male javelin thrower in history to defend the World Championships gold he had won in 2023 edition in Budapest. Czech legend Jan Zelezny (1993, 1995), who is now Chopra’s coach, and Anderson Peters (2019, 2022) of Grenada are the other two who have won the world championships crown on two consecutive occasions. Chopra is set to face Nadeem for the first time after the 2024 Paris Olympics, giving him a chance to avenge his second-place finish in the French capital. Nadeem had won gold in Paris with a monster throw of 92.97m while Chopra had a best of 89.45m that night.
The Chopra-Nadeem clash will, however, not happen on Wednesday as the two rivals have been placed in two different groups in the qualifying round. They are expected to clash in the final round on Thursday.
Weber, Peters, Kenya’s 2015 world champion Julius Yego, 2012 Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago, veteran Jakub Vadlejch of Czech Republic as well as Brazil’s Luiz da Silva, another 90m thrower, make up the rest of the starry field.
It would be a historic competition for India as Sachin Yadav, Yashvir Singh and Rohit Yadav will join Neeraj on the field, the biggest number among competing countries in the event.
Chopra has been handed a wild card as defending champion while the other three made the cut through world rankings.
Chopra has been clubbed with Weber, Walcott, Vadlejch and Sachin in the 19-man Group A qualification round on Wednesday, while the 18-strong Group B will have Nadeem, Peters, Yego, Da Silva, Rohit, Yashvir, and rising Sri Lankan Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage among others.
