Latest news with #NC)Classic
The Hindu
03-07-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
It feels really good to be number one again: Neeraj Chopra
Neeraj Chopra is thrilled about having regained the top spot in men's javelin throw as per the latest World Athletics ranking. But it hasn't been an easy climb to the top, with the last year, in particular, being very tough, admits Chopra.'I was second almost everywhere,' he says. But, 'after a long time, I have become number one again. It feels really good,' says the 27-year-old, India's first track and field athlete to win an Olympic gold medal. 'I will try to keep it going.' Another recent feather in his cap: a 90.23 metre throw at the Doha Diamond League on May 16, where he finally breached the 90-metre mark he had aspired for. 'I wanted to throw over 90m for a long time. People kept asking me when I would,' he says. 'Now that question is over,' says Chopra, speaking on the sidelines of a recent fitness community engagement event held at the Under Armour store in Indiranagar, Bengaluru, where he participated in a 5-kilometre run. He is also excited about the inaugural edition of the upcoming Neeraj Chopra (NC) Classic, an elite javelin throw meet scheduled to take place at the Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on July 5. According to him, the event came out of a desire to create a competition in India 'where international athletes can participate,' he says, adding that the idea to do so occurred to him during the Tokyo Olympics. While the initial plan was to have this meet at the Tau Devi Lal Sports Complex in Panchkula, Haryana, 'since I trained there and Haryana is my State,' there were some technical and infrastructural difficulties with it, he says.'There was not enough time to change things, but hopefully, it will happen in the future.' Right now, however, he is looking forward to having it in Bengaluru, where 'the weather is good and people support sports,' says Chopra. Fitness first As a young boy, he was overweight and often bullied by his classmates. So, he turned to fitness, heading to the nearby Shivaji Stadium in his hometown in an attempt to lose weight. There, he saw other athletes throwing the javelin, 'so it came to my mind that I also wanted to do it. I told my family, and they supported me,' says Chopra, who went on to win a gold medal at the National Junior Athletics Championships in 2012, just a couple of years after he began training seriously in the sport. Other accolades soon followed, including a gold medal at the 2016 IAAF World U20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, another gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, an Olympic gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and a silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. 'I didn't know that I would be able to come so far when I started,' he admits. 'But the journey has been good.' Indian sports, especially track and field events, have undergone considerable evolution in recent times, believes Chopra, who has witnessed this transformation firsthand. 'Earlier, we didn't have much knowledge about sports or much motivation about how we do it,' he says. 'We used to do some old exercises, techniques and training plans.' This, however, has slowly changed because more athletes from India began coaching abroad, he says. Also, while traditionally the winners of the javelin throw were European athletes, 'there are throwers from all parts of the world now, and I am very happy about it,' says Chopra. He believes it will improve even more in the future. 'The Government is now doing the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) top scheme. It will help people compete with international athletes,' he says. He also discusses how his own training has altered since he first started competing. 'We used to believe in strength and would lift a lot,' he says. 'We didn't pay attention to the techniques or the exercises.' But, a sport like javelin also requires speed and flexibility, so 'now we also do drills, sprinting, and flexibility work,' says Chopra, who is currently being trained by Jan Železný, a record-holding javelin thrower from the Czech Republic. Also, 'to prevent injury, you have to do small, boring exercises for small muscles. A lot of athletes forget about it.' After all, safeguarding one's body and staying injury-free is especially important in an individual sport like javelin. Unlike a team sport, 'where if you get injured, someone else can step in for you', in this sort of sport, 'if you make a mistake or get injured, it is on you,' says Chopra. And while injury is often inevitable, something he has personally experienced as well, 'the most important thing is that you have to do your work consistently to keep your mind and body ready,' he says. Think like a farmer Chopra grew up in a farming family in Khandra village, Panipat district, Haryana, a background that shaped his resilience and positive attitude towards sports. 'There is a good sporting culture in Haryana,' he says, pointing out that one can often spot young people routinely running on the road early in the morning. 'They are enthusiastic about fitness,' he says. His agrarian roots too, helped, in his opinion. 'We (farmers) are tough and have a hard-working mindset,' he says. Drawing a parallel between farming and sports, where one must work resolutely through uncomfortable weather, managing both rain and heat, he adds, 'The fact that my mindset was like this, right from the start, helps.'
The Hindu
02-07-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Neeraj Chopra Interview: Neeraj Chopra Classic is one thing that I had never dreamt of
Neeraj Chopra is thrilled about having regained the top spot in men's javelin throw as per the latest World Athletics ranking. He is also excited about the inaugural edition of the upcoming Neeraj Chopra (NC) Classic, an elite javelin throw meet scheduled to take place at Kanteerava Stadium, Bengaluru, on July 5. We spoke to the Olympic gold medalist to know about his journey. Interview: Preeti Zachariah Video & Editing: Ravichandran N
Hindustan Times
17-06-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
‘Flag has to fly higher on its own soil': Neeraj Chopra ahead of NC Classic 2025
Ahead of the Neeraj Chopra (NC) Classic in Bengaluru, two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra expressed his emotions for the tournament where he said that the national flag has to fly higher on its own soil. The NC Classic was originally slated to be held on May 24 but was later postponed to July 5 due to the cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan. "Once upon a time, there was a dream that the Indian flag should fly high proudly in front of the world. Even today, it is the same dream, but the stage has changed. Now, that flag has to fly higher on its own soil, among its own people," Neeraj Chopra said in a video posted by Neeraj Chopra Classic on Instagram. "Neeraj Chopra Classic is an event where every javelin not only falls on the ground, but also writes history. See, the world's best javelin throwers, on the same ground, for a new Taj," the javelin thrower added. A post shared by Neeraj Chopra Classic (@neerajchopraclassic) Tokyo 2020 gold medallist Neeraj Chopra will headline the meet named in his honour. The Indian athlete will face stiff competition from some of the sport's biggest names. The organisers of the event confirmed a 12-member entry list for the inaugural NC Classic on Friday, as per the The roster remains nearly identical to the original entry list released prior to the postponement, with just one change - Japan's Genki Dean has been replaced by Poland's Martin Konecny. Anderson Peters, Thomas Rohler, and Julius Yego - the 2015 world champion and Rio 2016 silver medallist - will participate as originally planned. The line-up also includes Pan American Games champion Curtis Thompson of the USA, Brazil's Luiz Mauricio da Silva and Sri Lanka's Rumesh Pathirage. Meanwhile, Asian Games medallist Kishore Jena, Sachin Yadav, Rohit Yadav and Sahil Silwal will represent the local challenge alongside Neeraj. Sachin Yadav recently won the silver medal at the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, Republic of Korea, finishing behind Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem. The NC Classic, co-organised by Neeraj Chopra, JSW Sports, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) and World Athletics (WA), will be held at the Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru. It was originally set to be hosted by Panchkula's Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Neeraj's home state of Haryana but was later moved due to issues with the floodlights at the initial venue. Classified as a WA 'A' category or Continental Tour Gold-level meet, the NC Classic will be the highest-tier international athletics event hosted in India. Neeraj Chopra Classic 2025 entry list: Neeraj Chopra (IND). Anderson Peters (GRN). Luiz Mauricio da Silva (BRA). Thomas Rohler (GER). Curtis Thompson (USA). Martin Konecny (POL). Julius Yego (KEN). Rumesh Pathirage (SRI). Sachin Yadav (IND). Rohit Yadav (IND). Sahil Silwal (IND). Kishore Jena (IND).
India Gazette
15-06-2025
- Sport
- India Gazette
"Flag has to fly higher on its own soil": Neeraj Chopra ahead of NC Classic 2025
New Delhi [India], June 15 (ANI): Ahead of the Neeraj Chopra (NC) Classic in Bengaluru, two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra expressed his emotions for the tournament where he said that the national flag has to fly higher on its own soil. The NC Classic was originally slated to be held on May 24 but was later postponed to July 5 due to the cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan. 'Once upon a time, there was a dream that the Indian flag should fly high proudly in front of the world. Even today, it is the same dream, but the stage has changed. Now, that flag has to fly higher on its own soil, among its own people,' Neeraj Chopra said in a video posted by Neeraj Chopra Classic on Instagram. 'Neeraj Chopra Classic is an event where every javelin not only falls on the ground, but also writes history. See, the world's best javelin throwers, on the same ground, for a new Taj,' the javelin thrower added. Tokyo 2020 gold medallist Neeraj Chopra will headline the meet named in his honour. The Indian athlete will face stiff competition from some of the sport's biggest names. The organisers of the event confirmed a 12-member entry list for the inaugural NC Classic on Friday, as per the The roster remains nearly identical to the original entry list released prior to the postponement, with just one change - Japan's Genki Dean has been replaced by Poland's Martin Konecny. Anderson Peters, Thomas Rohler, and Julius Yego - the 2015 world champion and Rio 2016 silver medallist - will participate as originally planned. The line-up also includes Pan American Games champion Curtis Thompson of the USA, Brazil's Luiz Mauricio da Silva and Sri Lanka's Rumesh Pathirage. Meanwhile, Asian Games medallist Kishore Jena, Sachin Yadav, Rohit Yadav and Sahil Silwal will represent the local challenge alongside Neeraj. Sachin Yadav recently won the silver medal at the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, Republic of Korea, finishing behind Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem. The NC Classic, co-organised by Neeraj Chopra, JSW Sports, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) and World Athletics (WA), will be held at the Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru. It was originally set to be hosted by Panchkula's Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Neeraj's home state of Haryana but was later moved due to issues with the floodlights at the initial venue. Classified as a WA 'A' category or Continental Tour Gold-level meet, the NC Classic will be the highest-tier international athletics event hosted in India. Neeraj Chopra Classic 2025 entry list: Neeraj Chopra (IND). Anderson Peters (GRN). Luiz Mauricio da Silva (BRA). Thomas Rohler (GER). Curtis Thompson (USA). Martin Konecny (POL). Julius Yego (KEN). Rumesh Pathirage (SRI). Sachin Yadav (IND). Rohit Yadav (IND). Sahil Silwal (IND). Kishore Jena (IND). (ANI)
India.com
14-05-2025
- Sport
- India.com
Olympic Champion Neeraj Chopra gears up for Janusz Kusocinski Memorial 2025
Neeraj Chopra. (PIC - X) New Delhi: Indian javelin sensation and double Olympic medal winner Neeraj Chopra is all set to take part in the 2025 Janusz Kusociński Memorial athletics meet, which will be held in Poland on May 23, as reported by Originally, Neeraj was expected to feature in the Neeraj Chopra (NC) Classic, scheduled for May 24 in Bengaluru. However, the event was postponed, making way for him to compete in the 71st edition of the Janusz Kusociński Memorial — a World Athletics Continental Tour Silver-level competition. Launched in 1954, the Chorzów meet ranks among the longest-running athletics events in both Poland and Europe. In this competition, Neeraj will go up against high-profile rivals, such as Anderson Peters of Grenada — the Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medallist and two-time world titleholder — and Germany's Julian Weber, a former European gold medallist. Several elite Polish athletes will also be competing. This appearance will mark Chopra's third outing of the year. The 27-year-old began his season at the Potch Invitational in Potchefstroom, South Africa, where he led a six-man field with a best effort of 84.52 metres. His second competition is the Doha Diamond League on May 16, where he will be joined by fellow Indian thrower and Asian Games silver medallist Kishore Jena. Neeraj is also scheduled to take part in the Ostrava Golden Spike event in Czechia on June 24.
