Ace in the javelin After dethroning the reigning world champion Anderson Peters, Neeraj Chopra achieved yet another milestone by becoming the first Indian player to ever earn the top spot in the world rankings.
Neeraj Chopra, known as the “Golden Boy” of Indian athletics, made history on Monday by becoming the first Indian athlete to ever achieve the position of world number one in the men’s javelin throw competition. The Olympic champion overtook the previous leader, the World Champion Anderson Peters, to achieve a new personal best and set a new standard for his career.
As a result of an outstanding beginning to the 2023 season, which culminated in Neeraj Chopra’s victory at the Diamond League Event in Doha with a remarkable throw of 88.63 metres, Chopra has climbed to the top of the global standings, where he currently sits.
The top five men’s javelin throwers are as follows:
- Neeraj Chopra (IND) – 1455 points
- Anderson Peters (GRN) – 1433 points
- Jakub Vadlejch (CZE) – 1416 points
- Julian Weber (GER) – 1385 points
- Arshad Nadeem (Pakistan), with a score of 1306 points
After Neeraj Chopra became only the second Indian athlete in the entire history of the nation to win an Olympic gold medal in 2021, he was able to win the hearts of millions of Indians all over the world. The javelin superstar had already won the gold medal in the 2018 Asian Games as well as the Commonwealth Games before his heroic performance in Tokyo.
Neeraj Chopra enjoyed great success in the javelin throw competition during the 2022 season. In Eugene, he brought home the silver medal, which was his very first medal ever from the World Championships. The Olympic star suffered a serious injury that prevented him from competing in the Commonwealth Games. Despite this, he went back to the racecourse and won a race in the Diamond League, making him the first Indian to ever accomplish this feat.
The Fanny Blankers-Koen Games will be the next competition that Neeraj Chopra participates in. These games will take place in Hengelo, Netherlands. In addition to that, on June 13 he will compete in the Paavo Nurmi Games in Finland as part of his preparation for the Asian Games 2023 and the Olympics in Paris 2024.