Tokyo, September 17 (HS): India’s reigning world champion and two-time Olympic medalist Neeraj Chopra has qualified for the men’s javelin throw final at the World Athletics Championships 2025. The star athlete sealed his berth on Wednesday with ease, clearing the qualification mark in his very first attempt.

Neeraj registered a throw of 84.85m, surpassing the automatic qualification mark of 84.50m, and secured third position in Group A.

Germany’s Julian Weber topped the group with a powerful throw of 87.21m, while Poland’s Dawid Wegner produced a personal best of 85.67m to finish second. Defending Olympic champion and strong gold medal contender Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic, however, failed to breach the automatic qualification distance. His season-best throw of 84.11m left him in fourth place.

India’s Sachin Yadav also gave a fighting display in the same group. He opened with 80.16m, improved to 83.67m in his second attempt, and recorded 82.63m in his third. Yadav ultimately finished sixth in Group A, missing out on automatic qualification.

Neeraj, who scripted history in Budapest 2023 by becoming the first Indian to win a World Championship gold with a throw of 88.17m, is now chasing a third consecutive medal at the global event. At the same edition, Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem had secured silver with 87.82m. Chopra currently holds the World No. 2 ranking.

Earlier this season, Neeraj began with a win at the Potch Invitational in South Africa. He made headlines in May at the Doha Diamond League, breaching the 90m mark for the first time with a throw of 90.23m, finishing second. He later claimed podium finishes at the Janusz Kusociński Memorial in Poland and won back-to-back titles at the Paris Diamond League (88.16m) and the Ostrava Golden Spike (85.29m).

Neeraj Chopra will now aim to add another medal — and possibly defend his crown — in the final of the men’s javelin throw at the World Athletics Championships 2025.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar