A sizzling rivalry, big contenders — javelin set to sparkle under Tokyo sky 

Our Correspondent 

At the pre-event press meet of the Diamond League Final in Zurich, India’s ace javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra sounded a bit frustrated with himself for being unable to execute his training methods in competitions. That reflected on the ground on August 28, when the 27 years old seemed to be struggling with his throws. It’s another matter that even on such days of despair, Chopra can pull out throws that can send him to the podium. In Zurich, his final attempt of 85.01m put him in second place behind Germany’s Julian Weber, who was in a zone of his own and claimed the title with a monstrous 91.51m.

As Chopra gets ready to defend his World Championships title in Tokyo 25— a city where he has fond memories of his Olympic gold from 2021 — he will be hoping to get back his mojo. The javelin qualification at the world championships in Tokyo is scheduled to take place on September 17, with the final scheduled the next day.

With back-to-back medals at the previous two Olympics and world championships, Chopra has been the most consistent javelin thrower in the world for the last four years. Though he is the defending world champion, he will not enter the competition as a favourite. That tag will go to World No. 1 Julian Weber of Germany, who is having an outstanding season.

Weber has achieved distances of more than 90m three times this year and holds the season lead of 91.51m.

World Championships Tokyo 25

The World Championships in Tokyo 25 is set to be the most competitive javelin competition in recent times, with eight of the 36 throwers in the field having a personal best beyond 90m. It includes Pakistan’s Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem, who is coming back to the competitive circuit after surgery on his right calf in July. Nadeem stole the show in Paris with his sensational 92.97m throw — an Olympic record. Chopra got his season’s best of 89.45m but had to contend with a silver medal in Paris.

On his day, Nadeem can use all his power to get big throws. But he has competed in only one meet this year — the Asian Championships in Gumi, where he won gold (86.40m).

The 2022 world champion Anderson Peters can never be ignored, knowing his penchant for getting his best in major competitions. Besides, Czech Jakub Vadlejch (PB: 90.88m), Kenyan Julius Yego (92.72m), Trinidad and Tobago’s Keshorn Walcott (90.16m), and the most recent entrant in the 90m club — Brazil’s Luiz Mauricio Da Silva (91.00m) — are part of the dazzling field.

Chopra-Weber rivalry

However, the season has been dominated by Weber and Chopra. Their sizzling rivalry, with the German leading 3-1 head-to-head, has regaled the fans. The overall head-to-head stands at 15-5, overwhelmingly in Chopra’s favour. But this year Weber has cranked up the pace and got the better of Chopra. Both have locked horns in Diamond League meets and tried to match each other. Chopra has competed in seven meets this season. After the 90m throw in Doha, his best was 88.16m in the Paris leg of the Diamond League — where he beat Weber (87.88m). However, Chopra has shown a ruthless streak when it comes to delivering on big stages. He thrives on adapting to different conditions and pressure situations.

Breaking the 90m barrier in Doha Diamond League was a relief for Chopra. Under the guidance of javelin legend Jan Zelezny, a few tweaks in approach and technique finally took him over the line. Yet, he knows that 90m throws need to come off his arm more often, now with Weber too joining the big league.

90m Club

In Doha both Chopra and Weber achieved the 90m distance for the first time in their careers. There too it was Weber who finished ahead of Chopra. The German achieved that with a final attempt of 91.06m, while Chopra’s only 90m mark and season’s best remains 90.23m. It took him six long years to add two meters distance, but Chopra, who relies on his technique to get the distance, never wavered from his target. All these years, he has been very consistent, especially in the last four years, when in every major global competitions he would invariably get an 88m or 89m throw, showing tremendous ability to maintain high levels. Occasionally, only when a big thrower like Anderson Peters in the 2022 world championships, or Arshad Nadeem at the Paris Olympics, got past the 90m mark, could they overshadow Chopra. Yet, he would challenge them and finish on the podium.

“I am happy that I was able to put that question (90m) to rest once and for all in Doha,” Chopra had said in Zurich of crossing the 90m mark. That must have given a lot of assurance to Chopra.

Diamond League Final

In the Diamond League Final in Zurich, Weber started with a 90m throw and improved on it. The rest of the field was simply left to do the catching-up job. Chopra eventually finished second. 

“This was not too bad. But we are getting very close to the world championships, so I still need to throw a little bit further,” Chopra said after the Diamond League Final in Zurich on August 29. “There were a few things that went well, but still, there were things which did not go that well. The run-up was not so good. There is something I didn’t find today. In the last attempt, I still managed to throw 85,” he said.

Back in Tokyo, the city of his Olympic triumph, Chopra will go all out to defend his world title.”

Four throwers from India

Besides Chopra, India for the first time will have four javelin throwers competing at the world championships. Sachin Yadav has shown good form, winning silver at the Asian Championships behind Nadeem and has a personal best of 85.16m. Yash Vir Singh (PB 82.57m) and seasoned Rohit Yadav (83.65m) have all achieved their personal bests this year, and that stands them well before the World Championships in Tokyo.

Box

Neeraj Chopra

Season’s best 90.23m

Personal best 90.23m

Achievements: Tokyo Olympics gold, 2021, Paris Olympics silver, 2024, World Championships gold, 2023, World Championships silver, 2022

ENDS