Reigning champion Neeraj Chopra made a spectacular entrance into the World Championships men’s javelin throw final on Wednesday after hitting the automatic qualification threshold of 84.50m in his first throw in Tokyo.
In the qualification round’s Group A, the 27-year-old, two-time Olympic medallist, threw his spear 84.85 meters in his first attempt.
Chopra, the first to throw, secured his spot in the final with his opening attempt and wrapped up early. Athletes meeting the automatic qualifying mark of 84.50m, or ranking among the top 12, advance to Thursday’s final round.
In the 19-man Group A qualification round on Wednesday, Chopra was paired with German sensation Julian Weber, who also qualified with a throw of 87.21 meters, Keshorn Walcott, Jakub Vadlejch, and Sachin Yadav.
The 18-man Group B will include Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem, rising Sri Lankan Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage, Anderson Peters, Julius Yego, Luiz Da Silva, Rohit Yadav, and Yashvir Singh.
Chopra won gold with a throw of 88.17 meters in the previous edition in Budapest, while Nadeem and Vadlejch took home silver and bronze, respectively.
Chopra will look to become only the third male javelin thrower to defend a World Championships gold. His coach, Czech great Jan Železný (1993, 1995), and Anderson Peters (2019, 2022) are the only others to have won back-to-back titles.
Chopra will have his first opportunity to get revenge on Nadeem following the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, when he finished in second position. Chopra had a best throw of 89.45 meters that evening, while Nadeem had won gold in Paris with a huge 92.97-meter throw.
