World Athletics Championships Preview: Neeraj Chopra spearheads Indian contingent in Tokyo, four years after historic Olympic gold

The Japan National Stadium in Tokyo has a special place in the history of Indian athletics. In 2021, Neeraj Chopra won the country’s first Olympic gold medal in track and field when he hurled his javelin to a distance of 87.58m at the multipurpose venue. Unfortunately, Neeraj could celebrate the moment only with members of the Indian contingent and a select group of journalists, as the arena bore a sorry look due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Four years later, Neeraj, along with 18 other Indian athletes, returns to the same stadium, which will host the World Athletics Championships from September 13 to 21.

The 27-year-old Neeraj has already won everything there is to be won — an achievement unfathomable for Indian athletics not so long ago.

And now, he is at it again.

While he could not defend his title at the Paris Olympics, the reigning world champion will hope that his spear soars the farthest in the Japanese capital, just as it did in 2021.

READ | How Sreeshankar qualified for Worlds in remarkable comeback from injury

No other Indian has gone past Neeraj’s Olympic gold-winning mark of 87.58m, but the man himself has 22 throws better than that. After years of being nagged by sections of the media and fans, the Haryana lad finally entered the 90m club this year at the Doha Diamond League with a 90.23m effort, which shows he has stepped up under the guidance of the legendary Jan Zelezny.

At the same time, so has the rest of the world.

Germany’s Julian Weber, the world leader at 91.51m, and Brazilian Luiz Mauricio da Silva (PB/SB: 91m) have emerged as new challengers for Neeraj’s throne. In Tokyo, he will also have a familiar rival in Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, who beat him to the gold at last year’s Summer Games with an Olympic record of 92.97m. Since Paris 2024, Arshad has only competed at the Asian Championships, where he won with an 86.40m throw, and underwent a calf muscle surgery in July.

Along with Neeraj, three more Indians — Sachin Yadav, Yash Vir Singh and Rohit Yadav — will compete in the men’s javelin throw in Tokyo. None of the three could achieve the automatic qualifying mark of 85.50m for Tokyo — Sachin came close with his silver-winning throw of 85.16m at the Asian Championships — and had to rely on the world rankings route. But the presence of four Indians in a 36-man field is proof of the country’s increasing depth in the discipline.

In the women’s javelin event, national record holder Annu Rani will make her fifth appearance at the World Championships. Her season’s best is 62.59m but she might need more to better her seventh-place finish from Oregon 2022.

Another interesting storyline to follow is what lies ahead in long jumper Murali Sreeshankar’s inspired comeback story — returning from a year-long absence due to a serious knee injury to make a late charge and qualify for the World Championships.

Triple jumper Praveen Chithravel enters the event with a season’s best of 17.37m, the eighth-best jump in the world this year. Abdulla Aboobacker will be the other Indian triple jumper in the 36-strong field.

On the track, the major Indians in focus will be middle-distance runner Gulveer Singh, steeplechaser Parul Chaudhary, and sprinter Animesh Kujur.

Gulveer, who set new national records in the 5000m and 10,000m this year, is set to compete in both events. The army man has impressed with consistent performances, showing steady improvement throughout the season.

Parul hasn’t raced since she finished second at the Asian Championships in May, where she met the automatic qualification mark for the Worlds with a new national record of 9:12.46s. While a podium finish in Tokyo is unrealistic, her target will be to better her own personal best (NR).

Animesh is set to become the first-ever Indian male sprinter to compete at the World Championships after qualifying for the 200m through the rankings. For the 22-year-old, it will be an invaluable experience to race alongside world champion Noah Lyles, Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo, and Australian teen sensation Gout Gout.

ALSO READ | James Hillier, Martin Owens reveal how Indian sprinting is thriving despite administrative hurdles

The country’s squad could have been bigger had steeplechaser Avinash Sable, heptathlete Nandini Agasara, and race walker Akshdeep Singh not been ruled out for medical reasons.

The failure of the relay squads to book a spot for the worlds is another reason behind the slightly reduced strength compared to Budapest 2023, where the men’s 4x400m quartet secured a stunning fifth-place finish.

Among the international stars, the biggest name to keep an eye on is Swedish pole vaulter Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis. Mondo has broken the world record 13 times and there is every reason to believe he can clear the bar set at 6.30m to take the tally to 14.

Lyles and Jamaican Kishane Thompson will renew their rivalry for the men’s 100m title. In the women’s 100m, Julien Alfred would love a repeat of her Paris Olympics upset of Sha’Carri Richardson. For ‘Pocket Rocket’ Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, it will be an emotional occasion, as the five-time world champion from Jamaica has announced that she will retire after the event.

The Tokyo Olympics produced the greatest men’s 400m hurdles race in history, with Norway’s Karsten Warholm becoming the first-ever man to break the 46-second barrier to beat the USA’s Rai Benjamin and Brazil’s Alison dos Santos. The trio will reunite on the same track, raising hopes of another epic showdown. Dutchwoman Femke Bol will be the overwhelming favourite in the women’s 400m hurdles, as world record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has opted to compete in the 400m flat, where she will challenge the likes of Salwa Eid Naser and Marileidy Paulino.

Portuguese race walker Joao Vieira and French discus thrower Melina Robert-Michon are on the cusp of achieving major milestones. The 49-year-old Vieira, listed to compete in the 35km race walk, will set a new men’s record of 14 World Championships appearances, while the 46-year-old Robert-Michon will equal the record of World Championships appearances by a woman (11).

Published on Sep 12, 2025