Two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj set to face Pak's Arshad; Sachin makes cut

TOKYO: Defending champion Neeraj Chopra will face Pakistan's Olympic gold medallist Arshad Nadeem in the World Championships finals in a much-anticipated clash between the two cross-border rivals as the duo made the cut in contrasting styles in the qualification round here on Wednesday.

While Chopra stormed into the finals after clearing the automatic qualification mark of 84.50m in his very first throw in Group A, Nadeem (85.28m) spent some anxious time before making the grade in his third and final attempt later in Group B.

According to rules, those who touch the automatic qualifying mark of 84.50m or the best 12 finishers compete in the final round to be held on Thursday.

Chopra is set to face Nadeem for the first time after the 2024 Paris Olympics, giving him a chance to avenge his second-place finish in the French capital. Nadeem had won gold in Paris with a monster throw of 92.97m, while Chopra had a best of 89.45m that night.

The Pakistani has come into the showpiece after competing in just one event in the whole of 2025, winning gold in the Asian Championships in Korea in May. He then underwent a knee surgery in July.

Sachin Yadav also joined Chopra in the finals as second Indian after his 83.67m effort placed him at sixth in Group A and 10th overall. Two other Indians, Rohit Yadav and Yashvir Singh missed out after finishing 28th and 30th respectively out of 37 competitors in Group A and Group B together.

In the last edition in 2023, India had three javelin throwers in the finals with Kishore Jena and DP Manu finishing fifth and sixth respectively while Chopra won the gold.

The 27-year-old Chopra was the first thrower in the qualification round and he sent his spear to 84.85m without much exertion. Having achieved the objective of making it to the final with minimum effort, the two-time Olympic medallist packed up and left the arena.

He was third in Group A and sixth in the overall standings but that did not matter on the day.

In the last edition in Budapest, Hungary, Chopra had thrown 88.17m to win the gold, while Nadeem (87.82m) and Jakub Vadlejch (86.67m) had pocketed silver and bronze respectively.

Chopra is aiming to become the third male javelin thrower in history to defend the World Championships gold. Czech legend Jan Zelezny (1993, 1995), who is now Chopra's coach, and Peters (2019, 2022) are the other two who have won the world championships crown on two consecutive occasions.