Neeraj Chopra Classic Live Updates: Bengaluru readies to host historic event
The NC Classic will be Neeraj's sixth meeting of 2025. He heads into the competition off the back of wins at the Paris Diamond League (88.16m) and Ostrava Golden Spike (85.29m) in June. Neeraj breached the 90m mark for the first time in his career earlier this year at the Doha Diamond League. He holds the second-best throw of the season (90.23m). Only Julian Weber of Germany has thrown farther-91.06m in Doha this season.
Former world champion Anderson Peters has pulled out of the Neeraj Chopra Classic citing injury. Peters, who was expected to be Neeraj's biggest rival in the competition, decided to skip the Bengaluru event due to an injury sustained in the last competition he played in France.
Here's a walk-through of the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru one day ahead of the event by our man Akshay Ramesh.
Neeraj Chopra has been the fan favourite in the Indian scene for a long time. And that affection has shown in Bengaluru.
400 km. One dream. Incredible spirit.
A fan's journey to meet Neeraj Chopra at the Neeraj Chopra Classic ended with smiles, selfies, and autographs from the champion himself. 💛🏅#NeerajChopraClassic #javelin #athletes #GameOfThrows #eventday pic.twitter.com/RCVBxpDzWa
— Neeraj Chopra Classic (@nc_classic) July 5, 2025
Our man Akshay Ramesh is sending some early details from the ground.
Here's what the order of throw is going to look like:
Sahil Silwal (India)
Rohit Yadav (India)
Martin Konecny (Czech Republic)
Thomas Rohler (Germany)
Yashvir Singh (India)
Julius Yego (Kenya)
Sachin Yadav (India)
Rumesh Pathirage (Sri Lanka)
Cyprian Mrzyglod (Poland)
Luiz Mauricio Da Silva (Brazil)
Curtis Thompson (USA)
Neeraj Chopra (India)
Neeraj Chopra: Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has already etched his name in the history books by becoming the first track and field athlete from the country to win an Olympic gold medal. He is also a world champion - India's first-ever in senior athletics - and a Diamond League winner, also a first by any Indian. His personal best is 90.23m.
Sachin Yadav: Sachin holds a personal best of 85.16m. The Asian Championships silver medallist recently secured gold medals at both Federation Cup and the National Games this year.
Rohit Yadav: The 24-year-old Rohit, with a personal best of 83.40m achieved in 2023, underwent surgery that year and returned to competition subsequently. He claimed a silver medal at the National Games 2025 with 80.47m.
Sahil Silwal: Sahil, 24, represents another promising talent in the 80m category, holding a personal best of 81.81m from his gold-winning performance at last year's National Inter-State Championships. He secured third position at the Federation Cup with a 77.84m throw. He won the gold medal at the Winckelmann Games 2024 athletics meet in Germany with a 75.36m throw.
Yashvir Singh: Yashvir Singh has a personal best of 82.57m, which came at the 2025 Asian Championships in Gumi, Korea. Yashvir first came into limelight when he rewrote Neeraj Chopra's U-20 Fed Cup meet record in 2021 with a 78.68m throw.
Thomas Rohler (Germany): Germany's Thomas Rohler is 2016 Olympics champion and one of the sport's all-time greats. His personal best is 93.90m.
Julius Yego (Kenya): The Kenyan athlete Yego, who is a 2015 World champion and 2016 Olympic silver medallist, has been trailblazing javelin's rise in Africa. His personal best is 92.72m.
Curtis Thompson (USA): Curtis Thompson is a top-ranked American javelin thrower, Pan American Games champion (2023) and a consistent performer on the Diamond League circuit with a personal best of 87.76m.
Martin Konecny (Czech Republic): Martin Konecny is a 27-year-old javelin thrower from the Czech Republic. He has established himself as a competitive athlete in the javelin, with his personal best record being 80.59 meters, achieved in 2025. Konecny has participated in various international competitions, including the European Athletics Championships, where he qualified for the final in 2022, finishing in 12th place. He is a notable figure in Czech javelin throwing and has been consistently amongst the top performers in his country.
Luiz Mauricio Da Silva (Brazil): A South American powerhouse with multiple podium finishes at the South American Athletics Championships across various age categories. His personal best is 86.62m.
Rumesh Pathirage (Sri Lanka): A rising star from the subcontinent, Pathirage recently set a new national record and claimed gold at the Asian Throwing Championships last year. His personal best is 85.45m.
Cyprian Mrzygod (Poland): The 27-year-old Polish athlete, Cyprian, is European U23 champion, winning the gold medal in 2019. His personal best is 85.92 metres, set in Kuortane this year.
The tournament will be telecast on Star Sports 2 and Star Sports 1 Hindi. In addition, you can also live stream it on the JioHotstar app.
The tournament is set to begin on July 5, 2025 at 7 PM (IST). The event will be held at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru.
This historic event, sanctioned by the Athletics Federation of India, marks a major leap forward for Indian athletics. The event also features in the roster of World Athletics.
In fact the Neeraj Chopra Classic has the prestigious World Athletics Gold level status, just one rung below the Diamond League.
Neeraj Chopra Classic is a defining milestone for Indian sports.
The competition is India's first-ever international javelin competition and is being hosted in Bengaluru by Neeraj Chopra, in collaboration with JSW.
The event is being held at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru.
Hello and welcome to India Today'a live coverage of Neeraj Chopra Classic. My name is Kingshuk Kusari and I am going to take you through this, first of a kind, event in India.
We also have our colleague Akshay Ramesh on the ground, who will be sending in a lot of inputs for this event.
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