BUDAPEST: Indian Olympic gold medalist javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra will be in action on Friday when he takes to the field for the qualifying rounds of the men's javelin throw event at the ongoing World Athletics Championships 2023.
Neeraj will be playing in Group A Qualifiers, scheduled for 1:40 PM IST.
Neeraj has already won gold at the Olympics, Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games. He is also the Diamond League champion. However, he has yet to win a top prize in the World Championships.
Last year, he came really close to clinching the gold last year but had to settle for a silver, coming behind Grenada’s Anderson Peters.
It was India's first-ever silver at the marquee athletics event and overall second after Anju Bobby George's bronze medal in the women's long jump back in 2003.
Neeraj is heading into the championships as the world's top-ranked javelin thrower and will be aiming to win that elusive gold to boost not only his personal cabinet but also India's rising credentials in athletics.
In total, 27 javelin throwers divided among Groups A and B, will be playing the qualifiers with an eye for the 12-man final, which is scheduled for Sunday. The automatic qualifying mark for the final is 83.00 m.
India's Manu DP, Kishore Jena, making their world championships debuts, will also be aiming to make an impact. Manu, a silver medalist at the Asian Athletics Championships this year, is in Group A while Jena sits in Group B.
A strong field consisting of the likes of Reigning world champion Anderson Peters, London 2012 Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago, and world No. 2 Julian Weber from Germany awaits the Indian trio.
Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem will also add a bit of 'India vs Pakistan' flavour to this multi-country event. He is the reigning CWG champion.