India : India’s javelin superstar Neeraj Chopra will once again step into Tokyo’s National Stadium the venue where he scripted history with Olympic gold in 2021 this time to chase another milestone at the 2025 World Athletics Championships on Wednesday.
The 27-year-old enters as defending champion, after winning India’s first-ever athletics world title in Budapest 2023 with a throw of 88.17m. His arch-rival, Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, had settled for silver with 87.82m on that occasion.
Their rivalry has only grown since. At the Paris Olympics last year, Nadeem struck back with a sensational 92.97m to clinch gold, while Chopra secured silver with 89.45m. Currently ranked World No. 2, Chopra is now eyeing his third World Championships medal, having also bagged silver at Eugene 2022.
This season, Chopra finally broke the 90m barrier, setting a national record of 90.23m at the Diamond League in Doha the third-best throw of 2025 behind Germany’s Julian Weber (91.51m) and Brazil’s Luiz da Silva.
The men’s javelin field in Tokyo is fiercely competitive, with three athletes already beyond 90m this year and five others boasting past 90m credentials. A total of 37 throwers, split into two groups, will compete for 12 spots in Thursday’s final, with automatic qualification set at 84.50m.
Chopra will lead India’s charge in Group A, joined by Sachin Yadav, while Group B features Arshad Nadeem, Rohit Yadav, and Yashvir Singh. Other global challengers include two-time world champion Anderson Peters (Grenada), Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott (Trinidad & Tobago), Czech star Jakub Vadlejch, and season leader Weber.
On the women’s side, Annu Rani spearheads India’s campaign with a season-best 62.59m. She faces a stacked field led by reigning world champion Haruka Kitaguchi (Japan), Austria’s Victoria Hudson (world leader at 67.76m), and Serbia’s Adriana Vilagos (67.22m). Women’s qualifiers take place Friday, with the final on Saturday.