Neeraj Chopra will face tough competition from some of the biggest names in javelin throw.
The Neeraj Chopra Classic will be held at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on May 24.
Tokyo 2020 gold medallist and reigning world champion Neeraj will headline the meet in his honour, but he’ll face tough competition from some of the biggest names in javelin throw.
Below is the list of Indian stars who will be in action –
1. Sachin Yadav (84.39m PB): The 25-year-old Sachin has a personal best of 84.39m and he had recently won gold in the Federation Cup in Kochi as well as in the Uttarakhand National Games in February. He has also been named in the Indian team for the Asian Championships (May 27-31) in South Korea.
2. Rohit Yadav (83.40m PB): Rohit, 23, has a personal best of 83.40m which he had achieved in 2023. He had undergone surgery in 2023 and made a return last year. He had won a silver in the Uttarakhand National Games with 80.47m, but settled for the seventh place with a modest 76.37m in the Federation Cup.
3. Sahil Silwal (81.81m PB): The 24-year-old Sahil is another up-and-coming javelin thrower in the 80m club. He has a personal best of 81.81m, which he achieved while winning gold in the National Inter-State Championships last year. He finished third in the Federation Cup with a throw of 77.84m.
Shift of venue
The event was originally scheduled to be held in Panchkula on May 24, but has hence been shifted because of an issue with the stadium floodlights.
“There will be 3-4 Indians, including Rohit (Yadav). We will keep an eye on the performances at the Federation Cup starting today. Also, we have only the men’s javelin event this time because our women counterparts will be competing in Rabat, Morocco,” Neeraj had said in an interaction last Monday.
Two-time World Champion Anderson Peters, Olympic Champion Thomas Roehler, Olympic silver medallist Julius Yego and world leader Curtis Thompson are some of the biggest international names who will feature in the competition this time.