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CNA
06-07-2025
- Sport
- CNA
India's javelin hero Chopra leverages star power as crowds flock to self-titled event
BENGALURU :Olympic javelin star Neeraj Chopra headlined what was billed as India's inaugural world-class field competition on Saturday, living up to his goal of elevating domestic talent while also walking away with another gold medal. Chopra, who won gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and silver at the 2024 Paris Games, triumphed with a throw of 86.18 meters at the 12-athlete javelin Neeraj Chopra Classic event. He finished ahead of former world champion Julius Yego (silver) and Sri Lanka's Rumesh Pathirage (bronze). "The biggest target of the competition was to uplift the Indian athletes alongside the international ones. We got the best javelin throwers to this competition," Chopra told reporters after winning the competition. The event drew more than 14,500 spectators - a figure that delighted Chopra, who has long championed greater public support for track and field events. "We really wanted people to come and watch track and field," said Chopra, who has single-handedly raised interest for athletics in India and has more than nine million Instagram followers. "I always request people to come to the stadiums to cheer athletes as they work really hard. "Track and field is one of the hardest sporting events. I request people to come and watch nationals as well... because our sport can only grow when people will come and watch us." The event featured three rounds with six attempts per participant, narrowing the field to eight after the initial round of three throws. Among the five Indian competitors, three advanced to the second round including Chopra, outperforming international athletes such as former Olympic champion Thomas Rohler and the Czech Republic's Martin Konecny. "We have been doing really well in the sport. They (Indian athletes) were quite happy to get a platform to play alongside the world champions," the 27-year-old said. "We also plan to add more events to this competition going forward, which will help the Indian athletes more." Among the Indian athletes, apart from Chopra, Asian Athletics Championships silver medallist Sachin Yadav performed well, recording his best throw of 82.33m in the third attempt. "Sachin could have performed better but he twisted his ankle in his opening throw. Overall, it was good. They will hopefully do well in the future. They are juniors and have time on their hand so will surely do better," Chopra said.
Reuters
06-07-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
India's javelin hero Chopra leverages star power as crowds flock to self-titled event
BENGALURU, July 6 (Reuters) - Olympic javelin star Neeraj Chopra headlined what was billed as India's inaugural world-class field competition on Saturday, living up to his goal of elevating domestic talent while also walking away with another gold medal. Chopra, who won gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and silver at the 2024 Paris Games, triumphed with a throw of 86.18 meters at the 12-athlete javelin Neeraj Chopra Classic event. He finished ahead of former world champion Julius Yego (silver) and Sri Lanka's Rumesh Pathirage (bronze). "The biggest target of the competition was to uplift the Indian athletes alongside the international ones. We got the best javelin throwers to this competition," Chopra told reporters after winning the competition. The event drew more than 14,500 spectators - a figure that delighted Chopra, who has long championed greater public support for track and field events. "We really wanted people to come and watch track and field," said Chopra, who has single-handedly raised interest for athletics in India and has more than nine million Instagram followers. "I always request people to come to the stadiums to cheer athletes as they work really hard. "Track and field is one of the hardest sporting events. I request people to come and watch nationals as well... because our sport can only grow when people will come and watch us." The event featured three rounds with six attempts per participant, narrowing the field to eight after the initial round of three throws. Among the five Indian competitors, three advanced to the second round including Chopra, outperforming international athletes such as former Olympic champion Thomas Rohler and the Czech Republic's Martin Konecny. "We have been doing really well in the sport. They (Indian athletes) were quite happy to get a platform to play alongside the world champions," the 27-year-old said. "We also plan to add more events to this competition going forward, which will help the Indian athletes more." Among the Indian athletes, apart from Chopra, Asian Athletics Championships silver medallist Sachin Yadav performed well, recording his best throw of 82.33m in the third attempt. "Sachin could have performed better but he twisted his ankle in his opening throw. Overall, it was good. They will hopefully do well in the future. They are juniors and have time on their hand so will surely do better," Chopra said.
India Gazette
05-07-2025
- Sport
- India Gazette
Neeraj Chopra stands victorious at inaugural NC Classic 2025 with 86.18m throw
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], July 5 (ANI): Two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra took the top honours in the inaugural edition of the Neeraj Chopra Classic, a competition named after him at Sri Kanteerava Outdoor Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday. The reigning javelin throw champion stood triumphant with 86.18m in a competition named after him. Kenya's Julius Yego notched up his season best and settled for second with 84.51m. Sri Lanka's Rumesh Pathirage claimed the third position with a best throw of 84.34m. While some athletes came close to challenging Neeraj's supremacy, the Indian's finesse remained unmatched by the end of the tournament. Even though it wasn't another 90m outing for the 27-year-old, he stamped his authority by conquering the challenge that he encountered and ensured that he continued to stay inside the top two since June 26, 2021. In front of an ebullient crowd, India's Sahil Silwal, left-handed, kicked off the proceedings at Sri Kanteerava Outdoor Stadium. He let out a roar after releasing the javelin from his hand and registered a throw of 77.48m. Rohit Yadav, a World Championships finalist, recorded a distance of 77.11m. Neeraj fouled on his first attempt and got on the board with a throw of 82.99m. He raised his hand after releasing the javelin and got the crowd going. He went to the top of the standings, bettering the 81.90m attempt from Rumesh Pathirage of Sri Lanka. Yashvir Singh, who started the event with a foul attempt, struck a distance of 76.20m in his second try. At the same time, Sachin Yadav managed 77.30m in his second try after fouling his first. Rumesh momentarily added a twist to the script by reclaiming the top spot with 84.34m, forcing Neeraj to slip to second. However, his attempt sparked a competitive fire in Neeraj, who responded boldly by sending his javelin to a distance of 86.18m to move to the summit after his third attempt. The bottom four in the standings were bound to get eliminated after the first three throws. Rio Olympics champion Thomas Rohler, who struggled to get the desired distance, saw his run in the competition end with 75.85m being his best. Sahil, Rohit, and Martin Konecny fouled their third throws and crashed out of the race for the top spot. With the last eight competitors decided, Neeraj tried to improve his best effort but didn't achieve the distance or height he yearned for. He deliberately strayed past the white line to register his second foul throw at the event. 'Mr YouTube' Julius Yego had a beaming smile on his face after his fourth try. The Kenyan athlete struck his season-best distance with a splendid 84.51m. Sachin's situation didn't improve after 82.33m. With the crowd behind Neeraj clapping in rhythm, the two-time gold medallist didn't enhance his top distance but managed 84.07m. In the sixth round, Curtis Thompson acknowledged the crowd after his final 81.50m throw and finished sixth in the standings. Sachin, an Asian silver medallist, had a disappointing outing and settled for the fourth spot after a foul in his last throw. Yego finished second with a strong 82.45 and turned towards the stands to acknowledge the crowd. Before Neeraj turned up for one final attempt, the top three were decided, along with his spot at the summit. With the crowd behind him, 82.22m flashed on the screen as Neeraj stood triumphant and kept his top-two streak intact on his home turf. (ANI)
CNA
05-07-2025
- Sport
- CNA
Former Olympic champion Chopra wins gold at his eponymous event
BENGALURU :Former Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra won gold at his eponymous javelin competition on Saturday at Bengaluru's Kanteerava Stadium, registering a dominant victory with a throw of 86.18 metres in the first round. The Neeraj Chopra Classic, India's first world-class field event, featured an elite lineup, including Kenya's Julius Yego, Germany's Thomas Rohler and Chopra himself alongside domestic throwers. Chopra, who earned gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and silver at the 2024 Paris Games, dominated throughout, following his winning effort with throws of 84.07m and 82.22m in subsequent rounds as more than 14,500 spectators cheered for their home favourite. "I didn't expect such a crowd and support in the first season. I want to thank AFI (Athletics Federation of India) and World Athletics for providing us with world-class competition," Chopra told reporters. "This is a big thing for our country. We were able to do well and I wish we can continue to add more events to the competition." Former world champion Yego claimed silver with 84.51m, marking a promising performance for the 2016 Rio silver medallist ahead of September's World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. Sri Lanka's Rumesh Pathirage secured bronze with a throw of 84.34m, continuing his upward trajectory after entering the 85m club at the 2024 Asian Throwing Championships in Korea. Chopra staged a dramatic comeback after a foul in the opening throw, recovering to post his winning 86.18m effort that proved unbeatable throughout the competition. The 12-athlete field saw only eight participants advance to the second round after three initial attempts. In a shocking upset, former Olympic champion Rohler failed to progress after managing just one valid attempt in the first round.
Reuters
05-07-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Neeraj Chopra wins gold in his eponymous event
BENGALURU, July 5 (Reuters) - Former Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra won his eponymous javelin competition on Saturday at Bengaluru's Kanteerava Stadium, registering a dominant victory with a throw of 86.18 meters in the first round. Chopra, who earned gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and silver at the 2024 Paris Games, dominated throughout following his winning effort with throws of 84.07m and 82.22m in subsequent rounds as over 14,500 spectators cheered for their home favorite. Former world champion Julius Yego of Kenya claimed silver with 84.51m, marking a promising performance for the 2016 Rio silver medallist ahead of the upcoming World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. Sri Lanka's Rumesh Pathirage secured bronze with a throw of 84.34m, continuing his upward trajectory after entering the 85-meter club at the 2024 Asian Throwing Championships in Korea. Chopra staged a dramatic comeback after opening with a foul, recovering to post his winning 86.18m effort that proved unbeatable throughout the competition. The 12-athlete field saw only eight participants advance to the second round after three initial attempts. In a shocking upset, former Olympic champion Thomas Rohler failed to progress after managing just one valid attempt in the first round. Following the successful conclusion of Saturday's event, Neeraj Chopra expressed his intention to return with the competition next year, aiming to expand its scope by including additional athletic events.
