New Delhi: He has done it! The golden boy of India has done it! Yes… Neeraj Chopra has finally scaled the 90-m mark, the long-standing elusive feat that everyone back home desired for years. As they say, “better late than never”, Neeraj was unfazed by the heavy baggage of expectations and believed in his preparations that he would surely achieve the landmark someday, and the moment arrived on Friday.
In what was a fabulous start to his 2025 season, the 27-year-old registered a throw of 90.23 metres in his third attempt in the men’s javelin throw final, while participating at the Doha Diamond League. This is for the first time in his career that he has breached the 90-m barrier, and the feat isn’t elusive anymore for the double Olympic medallist.
Although a 90-m mark was inevitable, looking at Neeraj’s confidence, hardcore preparations and his firm belief in himself, as soon as he sent the spear past 90 metres at the Suheim Bin Hamad Stadium, the entire crowd roared in jubilation and applauded the Haryana lad. He has exemplified what true grit, determination, and will power can lead an athlete to and that no landmark is too elusive if one holds faith.
Not to rule out, Neeraj, however, finished second in the event as he was trumped by Julian Weber of Germany, who came from behind in his final attempt to reach 91.06 metres, which was the farthest throw of all the participants. The 90-plus-metre efforts made Chopra the 25th man to cross the landmark in the history of men’s javelin throw, while Weber became the 26th athlete in the world to have achieved the feat.
To talk about his milestone with an Asian perspective, he joins the duo of Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem and Chao-Tsun Cheng of Chinese Taipei to become only the third Asian to reach the landmark, making him the first Indian javelin thrower ever.
Sky is the limit!
Now that he has conquered the Olympic gold, the World Championship gold, boasts a Diamond League title along with gold medals in Asian Games and Commonwealth Games, and of course now crossing the elusive 90-m mark, nothing seems to be left to achieve for the golden boy, other than striving for personal best performances and contributing to the growth of the sport in India.
It would be safe to say that Neeraj Chopra can do anything going forward, and the only limit for him is the sky! Although he said it numerous times that he isn’t bothered much by the fact that he is yet to achieve a throw of 90+ metres, there seemed to be an unfulfilled desire within him all these years since he started achieving immense success globally.
With most of his regular competitors like Nadeem, Anderson Peters, and Jakub Vadlejch already gone beyond the 90-m barrier, Chopra, although young, was the only one left from the lot and talked with hopes about doing the same in the near future. It was in 2022 during the Stockholm Diamond League that he missed the milestone by only 0.6 metres, registering a national record of 89.94 metres.
Since then, he has only focused on improvising, and the hard work finally bore him fruit on Friday. His throw of 90.23 metres is the 24th-best in the all-time list of best throws in men’s javelin history. In the current scenario, no championship or record stands too tall for Chopra, and the only argument that can be left is for him to break the world record. Well, that might not be too far as well!
World record under Jan Železný?
For the uninitiated, Chopra is currently under the training of Jan Železný, the former javelin thrower from the Czech Republic who holds the world record in men’s javelin throw. In 1996, Železný registered a mind-boggling throw of 98.48 metres to set a new benchmark which continues to stand tall even after 29 years.
It is noteworthy that Chopra joined forces with Železný only recently, and this was their first big tournament outing together. The world record holder proved brilliant for Chopra as the third spear from him landed beyond 90 metres, a feat that he had deeply longed for. Considering that this association continues for a longer period if all goes well, Chopra can dream of reaching newer heights, including trumping his own coach’s world record.
Although this shouldn’t be a personal goal for Neeraj, the only thing left to conquer in his still-budding career seems to be just this. His throw of 90.23 metres is now India’s national record mark.
More to follow…
Neeraj Chopra scaled the 90-m barrier for the first time in his career and the feat doesn’t stand elusive anymore. The two-time Olympic medallist has exemplified grit, determination, and will power in reaching newer heights! Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
