Indian superstar Neeraj Chopra will once again bear the hopes of billions when he steps onto the field at the Paris Olympics 2024 next week. The Tokyo Olympics gold medallist will be looking to become the first Indian athlete to win two individual gold medals at the Olympics.
The men’s javelin star will be in action hope to defend his crown in face of stiff competition from the likes of Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan, Jakub Vadlejch of Czech Republic and Julian Webber from Germany. Neeraj is the leader of the 29-member Athletics contingent from India which has started competing at the Paris Olympics 2024 from Thursday.
A nagging injury has limited Neeraj Chopra’s competition appearances in the build-up to the Paris Olympics, but the javelin star is still one of the favourites to finish on the podium and perhaps clinch an unprecedented second successive gold medal.
A gold on August 8 for Neeraj Chopra will make him only the 5th man in Olympics history to defend his title and the first Indian to win two gold medals in an individual event in the Olympics. Eric Lemming (Sweden, 1908 and 1912), Jonni Myyra (Finland, 1920 and 1924), Jan Zelezny (Czech Republic, 1992, 1996 and 2000) and Andreas Thorkildsen (Norway, 2004 and 2008) are the only ones to have defended the men’s javelin gold medals in the Olympics.
नमस्कार, Paris!
Excited to finally reach the Olympic Games village. #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/qinx6MsMDl
— Neeraj Chopra (@Neeraj_chopra1) July 30, 2024
The Indian star has competed in just three events this year but the 26-year-old world champion is back in full flow in a season where none of his global competitors have done exceptionally well. After finishing second in the Doha Diamond League in May with a throw of 88.36m, which is his season’s best, Neeraj Chopra withdrew from Ostrava Golden Spike on May 28 as a precautionary measure after he felt ‘something’ in his adductor (group of muscles located on inner thighs).
Neeraj Chopra, who has a personal best of 89.94m, made a strong comeback by winning gold at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Finland on June 18 with a throw of 85.97m. He later opted out of the Paris Diamond League on July 7, insisting that the event was never a part of his competition calendar this year.
Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Czech thrower Jakub Vadlejch, who beat Chopra in the Doha Diamond League, Germany’s Julian Weber and former world champion Anderson Peters will once again be the Indian star’s main rivals.
The qualification round of men’s javelin throw competition will be held on August 6. Here are all the details about Neeraj Chopra’s javelin throw event at Paris Olympics 2024…
Javelin throw event Qualification – Group A: August 6, 1.50pm onwards
Javelin throw event Qualification – Group B: August 6, 3.20pm onwards
Javelin throw event Final: August 8, 11.55pm onwards
Neeraj Chopra’s javelin throw event in Paris Olympics 2024 will be LIVE on Sports18 network in India.
Neeraj Chopra’s javelin throw event in Paris Olympics 2024 will be available for livestreaming on Jio Cinema website and app.
