Our Bureau
Tokyo
India’s star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra had a rare off day, finishing eighth in the men’s javelin final at the 2025 World Athletics Championships held in Tokyo on Thursday.
His best effort came in the second round, where he recorded a throw of 84.03 meters at the National Stadium. Despite his efforts, Neeraj was unable to progress to the final three throws, placing outside the top six by the fifth round.
Coming into the competition as the defending world champion — after his gold medal triumph in Budapest in 2023 — Neeraj was expected to contend for a podium finish. This marks the first time since the Tokyo 2020 Olympics that he did not secure a top-two finish in an international event, and the first time since 2018 that he missed the top three altogether.
Fellow Indian athlete Sachin Yadav delivered an impressive performance, narrowly missing a medal by finishing fourth. He achieved a personal best of 86.27 meters with his first attempt.
Olympic gold medallist Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan also struggled, placing 10th with a throw of 82.75 meters and failing to reach the final round.
The gold medal was claimed by Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago with a throw of 88.16 meters. Grenada’s Anderson Peters secured silver with 87.38 meters, while the USA’s Curtis Thompson earned bronze with 86.67 meters.
