Neeraj Chopra At World Athletics Championships Preview: Indian Ace Targets Historic Javelin Throw Defence

Carrying the country's weight of expectations on his broad shoulders, Neeraj Chopra will attempt to become only the third men's javelin thrower in history to defend the World Championships gold medal in Tokyo, with the athletics showpiece beginning Saturday (September 13, 2025). Chopra is India's lone medal prospect.

The man from Khandra, Haryana won gold at the 2023 edition in Budapest with a throw of 88.17 metres. Pakistan's reigning Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem (87.82 metres) and Czech Republic's Jakub Vadlejch (86.67 metres) took silver and bronze respectively.

If Chopra, a two-time Olympic medallist, wins gold on September 18—the day of the finals—he will join an elite group as only the third man ever to win back-to-back world championships javelin titles. Legendary Czech thrower Jan Zelezny (1993 and 1995), now coaching Chopra, and Anderson Peters (2019 and 2022) of Grenada are the only others to have achieved this feat.

Blockbuster Field Awaits As Neeraj Chopra Faces Top Rivals In Tokyo

Chopra leads a 19-member Indian team as the sole medal contender and will face Arshad Nadeem for the first time in over a year since the 2024 Paris Olympics, offering a chance to avenge his second-place finish in Paris. The competition will be fierce for the 27-year-old Chopra in Tokyo's arena—the same venue where he made history by winning Olympic gold in 2021.

The world's javelin elite will compete, including Nadeem and newly-crowned Diamond League champion Julian Weber of Germany. Other top contenders are Anderson Peters, Kenya's 2015 world champion Julius Yego, Trinidad and Tobago's 2012 Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott, veteran Vadlejch, and Brazil's Luiz da Silva, who recently surpassed the 90-metre mark with a 91-metre throw. The men's javelin qualifying round is scheduled for September 17.

Julian Weber Favoured; Neeraj Chopra’s Season Mixed Amid Strong Indian Representation

On current form, Julian Weber is considered the favourite. The 31-year-old German has thrown beyond 90 metres three times this season and leads the world with a best of 91.51 metres. His confidence is high after winning last month's Diamond League trophy.

Chopra breached the coveted 90-metre mark during the Doha Diamond League in May but has also recorded some mediocre distances this year. He failed to cross 85 metres in two competitions, exceeded it slightly twice, and managed an 86-metre-plus effort in another event. His second-best throw this year was 88.16 metres.

In head-to-head matchups against Weber this season, Chopra trails 1-3, with their last meeting at the Diamond League Final where he finished second with an 85.01-metre throw. Three other Indians—Sachin Yadav, Yashvir Singh, and Rohit Yadav—are also competing in men's javelin, making India the country with the most athletes in this event. Chopra received a wild card as defending champion while the others qualified through world rankings.

Other Indian Athletes Eye Finals Across Track And Field Events

Men's javelin remains the most anticipated event for Indian athletics fans after an impressive showing in Budapest last year, where three Indians reached the final round. Besides Chopra's gold, Kishore Jena and DP Manu finished fifth and sixth respectively.

Other Indian athletes aiming for final rounds include Annu Rani (women's javelin), Parul Chaudhary (women's 3000m steeplechase), Murali Sreeshankar (men's long jump), Gulveer Singh (men's 5000m), and Praveen Chithravel (men's triple jump).

Annu Rani, aged 33, is competing in her fifth World Championships after appearances in 2017, 2019, 2022, and 2023. She reached finals in 2019 and 2022 but exited during qualification in other years. After a lacklustre 2024, she has improved this season with a best of 62.59 metres and aims to better her seventh-place finish from 2022.

Returning from injury, Sreeshankar qualified for Worlds at the last minute and has won all five competitions since his comeback but needs to surpass his season best of 8.05 metres to contend for medals. National record holder Animesh Kujur will be India's first men's 200m competitor at Worlds; Tejas Shirse will represent India in men's 110m hurdles.

Indian action begins Saturday with men's and women's 35km race walks featuring Ram Baboo, Sandeep Kumar, and Priyanka Goswami. In the evening session, Pooja will run her 1500m heat race.

(With PTI inputs)