Neeraj Chopra Prepares to Defend Javelin Title at Paris 2024 Olympics
Paris [France], August 6: India’s star javelin thrower, Neeraj Chopra, is set to begin his title defense at the Paris 2024 Olympics. The reigning Olympic and world champion will start from the qualification round on Tuesday. Neeraj, who has a season’s best throw of 88.36m, holds the national record of 89.94m.
At 26 years old, Neeraj is expected to advance through the qualification round. The real challenge will be on Thursday when he faces tough competitors in the final. Among his top rivals are Jakub Vadlejch from Czechia, Anderson Peters from Grenada, Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, Julius Yego from Kenya, Keshorn Walcott from Trinidad and Tobago, and Finland’s Oliver Helander.
Germany’s Max Dehning, who holds the world-leading mark of 90.20m, is also a strong contender. The qualification round will determine the final line-up, with athletes needing to achieve a mark of 84.00m to advance. If fewer than 12 athletes meet this mark, the next highest-ranked athletes will be included in the final.
Top Rivals at Paris 2024
Arshad Nadeem
Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem won silver at the World Championships last year and gold at the Commonwealth Games 2022 with a throw of 90.18m. The rivalry between Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem is highly anticipated.
Julian Weber
Julian Weber from Germany, the reigning European Games champion, has a personal best of 89.54m and a season’s best of 88.37m. He has shown remarkable consistency in 2024.
Oliver Helander
Finland’s Oliver Helander, ranked fourth in the world, has a season’s best of 85.75m. He competed against Neeraj Chopra at the Paavo Nurmi Games earlier this year.
Keshorn Walcott
Keshorn Walcott from Trinidad and Tobago is aiming for his third Olympic medal. He won gold at London 2012 and bronze at Rio 2016. His season’s best is 85.11m.
Julius Yego
Kenya’s Julius Yego, the Rio 2016 silver medallist, has a season’s best of 81.74m and could be a dark horse in the competition.
Doubts Revealed
Neeraj Chopra -: Neeraj Chopra is an Indian athlete who competes in the javelin throw. He won a gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Javelin -: A javelin is a long spear-like object that athletes throw as far as they can in a sport called javelin throw.
Paris 2024 Olympics -: The Paris 2024 Olympics is a big sports event that will happen in Paris, France, in the year 2024. Athletes from all over the world will compete in different sports.
Qualification round -: The qualification round is the first stage of the competition where athletes try to meet a certain standard to move on to the final round.
Season’s best -: Season’s best is the best performance an athlete has achieved in a particular season.
National record -: A national record is the best performance ever recorded in a country for a specific event.
Jakub Vadlejch -: Jakub Vadlejch is a javelin thrower from the Czech Republic who competes internationally.
Anderson Peters -: Anderson Peters is a javelin thrower from Grenada who has won world championships.
Arshad Nadeem -: Arshad Nadeem is a javelin thrower from Pakistan who competes internationally.
Julian Weber -: Julian Weber is a javelin thrower from Germany who competes in international events.
Oliver Helander -: Oliver Helander is a javelin thrower from Finland who competes internationally.
Keshorn Walcott -: Keshorn Walcott is a javelin thrower from Trinidad and Tobago who won a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics.
Julius Yego -: Julius Yego is a javelin thrower from Kenya who has won world championships and an Olympic silver medal.
84.00m -: 84.00m is the distance athletes need to throw the javelin to qualify for the final round in this competition.
