New Delhi: Eight years after he first competed at the Commonwealth Games (CWG), Neeraj Chopra returns to the stage that launched him into the international limelight. Coming into that 2018 edition in Gold Coast, Chopra’s only international successes were at the U-20 World Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland (2016) and the Asian Championships in Bhubaneswar (2017). The then 20-year-old long-haired tyro won the competition comfortably and unlocked a career no other Indian athlete has had.
Event Context
Unheralded then, Chopra is now a double Olympic medallist, a former world champion, an Asian Games gold medallist and a Diamond League winner. The success has come at a cost. Niggles in the elbow, shoulder, groin and lower back have added a layer of vulnerability to his aura. Add to this the world-class 18-member field assembled for the competition, and the anticipation goes up a notch.
“I have very good memories of CWG. It was my first senior competition, and I essentially started my senior career here when I won the gold. It’s been eight years now, and finally I am back here.”
Unlike most competitions where Chopra enters as a sure-shot medal contender, Glasgow presents a tricky challenge, none bigger than his own form. He switched to coach Jaiveer Singh Chaudhary at the start of the year and injuries to his heel and lower back forced him to delay his season. This year, Chopra has competed only in the Doha Diamond League in June where his 85.69m throw gave him the fourth spot.
Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem enters the field as a defending champion, having sent the spear to 90.18m for a Games record in 2022 that Chopra had missed due to a groin niggle. Despite niggles and patchy form, Nadeem’s brute power and ability to bring out a big throw on demand makes him a contender. This year, the Pakistani thrower has competed in only one competition — the Spitzen Leichtathletik meet in Switzerland — where his 78.47m gave him the ninth spot.
The conditions in Glasgow are cold, wet and windy, putting the premium on adaptability and experience. The javelin qualification is scheduled to begin at around 10:30 am local time, with maximum temperature during the day around 18°C.
Player Focus
Chopra will be joined by compatriots Rohit Yadav and Yashvir Singh. After flying under the radar for the last couple of seasons following an injury to his right elbow, Rohit booked his ticket to Glasgow with an 87.05m effort at the Inter State meet in Bhubaneswar in June.
Team Analysis
Pathirage’s rise hasn’t gone unnoticed by Chopra. Asked about his newest rival at the AFI Awards in June, Chopra said the CWG and Asian Games competitions were now as tough as the Olympics.
“He (Pathirage) has been doing well for some time now. There’s Arshad also. It’s good for Asian athletics as a whole. There is a lot of competition in South Asia,” he had said.
Match Outlook
The automatic qualification mark is set at 84m and athletes meeting the standard or at least the 12 best performers will advance to Friday’s final. Chopra’s great strengths — consistency and adaptibility — are expected to hold him in good stead in a field that features the reigning Olympic champion, the reigning world champion, and the world’s leading thrower of the year.
“The competition will be tough, which is a good thing. That means we are able to push each other more. Especially in South Asia, there is a lot of strong competition now. Everyone will push themselves here,” he had said upon arriving in Glasgow.
This will be Chopra’s first face-off with Nadeem since the latter beat the Indian on the unforgettable Paris night at the 2024 Olympics. Beyond the India-Pakistan rhetoric though, the athlete drawing a great deal of interest will be Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage. The 23-year-old is enjoying a breakout year, having logged a world leading throw of 92.62m en route his Diamond League win in Rome. He also won the Doha Diamond League (88.68m).
“I always feel in major Games, the main challenge is winning gold among the best athletes in the world. Distance comes next. But when the conditions are tough, it’s not easy to get the distance. In that case, we have to be consistent. I feel I should maintain my consistency and see how I can also increase my distance,” Chopra said.
Outside the Asians, Grenada’s Anderson Peters, Kenya’s Julius Yego and Trinidad and Tobago’s Keshorn Walcott will be the ones to watch out for. All three have been around long enough to manage conditions and big-stage pressure, and with the 37-year-old Yego competing in his last CWG, he’ll hope for a memorable swansong.
