India’s Neeraj Chopra finished a disappointing eighth in the men’s javelin throw final at the World Athletics Championships 2025 in Tokyo on Thursday, registering an underwhelming best effort of 84.03m at the National Stadium in Japan.
It was unfamiliar territory for the two-time Olympic medallist, who had not placed outside the top two in any competition since the 2021 Kourtane Games – the event that immediately preceded his historic gold medal at Tokyo 2020.
The last time the Indian ace had finished outside the top three was at the 2018 Continental Cup in Czechia, where he was sixth.
“I don’t understand what happened today. This has not happened for a long time,” Neeraj Chopra admitted after the competition. “I had some problems before coming to Tokyo. Two weeks ago I had some back issues but I didn’t want to tell anyone. I was thinking I would still manage to get through it. But javelin is really tough. If you are not in a good shape, you’re out.”
Neeraj Chopra, who was the defending champion heading to Tokyo 25 having won the gold medal in Budapest two years ago, then went on to stress that he will use the setback as a chance to reflect and refine his preparation.
“It’s OK. I will learn from today. Maybe I need more training or to improve my technique. Maybe I just need more time for training. But it’s life, it’s sport. I have to accept it and move on.”
Neeraj also brushed aside any suggestions that competing on consecutive days – having participated in the qualifiers on Wednesday – put excess strain on him physically.
“Competing two days in a row was not a problem. It was OK because I qualified yesterday with my first throw. It was not too far but I was thinking it was still good, and that I could throw further today. I will go back to my room, watch the competition and check on my throws. I will work on it,” the two-time Olympic medallist noted.
The World Championships marked Neeraj’s seventh outing of 2025. He has already won four competitions this season, including the Paris Diamond League and the Neeraj Chopra Classic in Bengaluru.
His season-best and the Indian national record of 90.23m came at the Doha Diamond League in May, where he finished second.
Pakistan’s Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem was another surprise name at the bottom half of the standings for the 12-man final. He was 10th with a mark of 82.75m.
Neeraj’s compatriot, Sachin Yadav, meanwhile, gave a good account of himself, producing a personal best of 86.27m in the opening round to finish fourth.
At the top, Trinidad and Tobago’s Keshorn Walcott clinched gold with 88.16m, Grenada’s Anderson Peters secured silver at 87.38m, and the USA’s Curtis Thompson took bronze with 86.67m.