Defending champion Neeraj Chopra stormed into the final of the men’s javelin throw at the World Championships on Wednesday. The 27-year-old cleared the automatic qualifying mark of 84.50 metres with his very first attempt. Chopra, a two-time Olympic medallist, threw 84.85 metres in Group A of the qualification round. He was the first thrower of the day and packed up after securing his place in Thursday’s final.
The top 12 finishers or those who cross 84.50 metres advance to the final. Chopra’s Group A competitors included German star Julian Weber, who qualified with 87.21 metres, as well as Keshorn Walcott, Jakub Vadlejch and Sachin Yadav.
Group B features Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem, Anderson Peters, Julius Yego, Luiz Da Silva, Rohit Yadav, Yashvir Singh and rising Sri Lankan athlete Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage among others.
In the last World Championships in Budapest, Chopra won gold with a throw of 88.17 metres. Nadeem took silver with 87.82 metres and Vadlejch earned bronze with 86.67 metres.
Chopra now aims to become the third male javelin thrower to defend a World Championships title. Czech legend Jan Zelezny, who is also Chopra’s coach, won consecutive titles in 1993 and 1995. Peters achieved the feat in 2019 and 2022.
Chopra will face Nadeem for the first time since the 2024 Paris Olympics. Nadeem had won gold in Paris with a throw of 92.97 metres while Chopra finished second with 89.45 metres.