Neeraj Chopra to begin title defence against strong field

India’s javelin superstar Neeraj Chopra will begin his World Championship title defence with the qualification round here on Wednesday, taking on a blockbuster field that also features Olympic gold-winning Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan and Diamond League champion Julian Weber of Germany.

Neeraj will aim to become the third male javelin thrower in history to defend the World Championships gold he had won in 2023 edition in Budapest.

Czech legend Jan Zelezny (1993, 1995), who is now Neeraj’s coach, and Anderson Peters (2019, 2022) of Grenada are the other two who have won the world championships crown on two consecutive occasions.

Neeraj is set to face Nadeem for the first time after the 2024 Paris Olympics, giving him a chance to avenge his second-place finish in the French capital.

The Neeraj-Nadeem clash will, however, not happen on Wednesday (September 17, 2025) as the two rivals have been placed in two different groups in the qualifying round.

They are expected to clash in the final round on Thursday (September 18, 2025).

Weber, Peters, Kenya’s 2015 world champion Julius Yego, 2012 Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago, veteran Jakub Vadlejch of Czech Republic as well as Brazil’s Luiz da Silva, another 90m thrower, make up the rest of the field.

It would be a historic competition for India as Sachin Yadav, Yashvir Singh and Rohit Yadav will join Neeraj on the field, the biggest number among competing countries in the event.

Neeraj has been handed a wild card as defending champion while the other three made the cut through world rankings.

Those who reach automatic qualifying mark of 84.50m or the best 12 will make it to the final round to be held on Thursday.

Nadeem, 28, has come into the World Championships after participating in just one event the whole season.

Neeraj will aim to become the third male javelin thrower in history to defend the Worlds gold he had won in 2023 in Budapest