Golden Arm Returns: Neeraj Chopra's First Throw Of 2026 Lands In Doha

Fit-again Indian javelin throw superstar Neeraj Chopra on Monday announced that he will return to action at the Doha Diamond League on June 19, ending weeks of speculation about his competition calendar for the season.

The 28-year-old has been suffering from a back injury which has prevented him from competing so far in the year.

"The wait is over. First throw of 2026 lands in Doha! Neeraj Chopra returns to competitive action on June 19," his management firm Vel Sports announced on Instagram.

Chopra is a late addition to the event as his name was not in the list announced by the organisers on June 12. He has been training in Switzerland's Olympic Centre to prepare for the season.

"See you in Doha," Chopra wrote on Instagram.

He has not competed since the World Championships in Tokyo on September 18, 2025, when he had finished eighth with a throw of 84.03m.

Pakistan's Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem, whose participation was announced on June 12, did not figure in the latest list of competitors.

Chopra will be up against star Sri Lankan Rumesh Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage, the season leader with his stunning 92.62m at the Rome leg of the Diamond League on June 4, reigning world champion Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago, and two-time world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada.

Others in the nine-man star-studded field are World Championships bronze-medallist Curtis Thompson of the USA, Julius Yego of Kenya, Jakub Vadlejch of Czechia, Mohamed Huseein Ahmed Sameh of Egypt and Artur Felfner.

In May last year, the two-time Olympic medallist Indian had breached the coveted 90m mark at the same venue. He had recorded 90.23m to finish second behind Julian Weber (91.06m) of Germany.

The Doha Diamond League was to be originally held on May 8 as the season-opening event but was postponed due to the ongoing West Asia conflict.

Chopra was on Sunday named in India's 32-member athletics squad for the upcoming Commonwealth Games, subject to achieving the Athletics Federation of India's (AFI) qualifying standard of 82.61m.

AFI selection committee chairman Adille Sumariwalla on Sunday said that Chopra was expected to return to competition within the next 10 days.

"Neeraj has recovered from his back injury. He is now training fit and is getting ready to compete probably in the next 10 days or so," Sumariwalla, a former AFI president said.

"He has requested that he will be contesting in a couple of competitions before the Commonwealth Games and if he achieves his qualifying standard (82.61m) he be selected for the CWG." Besides Chopra, who won gold at the 2018 CWG, Rohit Yadav and Yashvir Singh will also compete in the men's javelin throw event after meeting the qualification mark at the Indian Athletics Series in Ludhiana on Saturday.

The Commonwealth Games are scheduled to be held Glasgow, Scotland from July 23 to August 2.

Meet record breakers to get USD 5000 bonus

The Doha Diamond League organisers are hoping that men's javelin throw would be one of the highlights of the prestigious one-day meet.

Organisers announced that athletes who set new meet records will be awarded a USD 5000 bonus, an innovative concept that was first introduced in 2025.

The DL winner in each event will pocket USD 10,000, second-place finishers to get USD 6,000 and ninth-place finisher USD 500.

“Competing against the world’s best athletes is a dream come true for me and I’m incredibly excited to line up in Doha where we’ve witnessed many memorable javelin competitions over the years,” Pathirage said in a statement from the organisers.