WATCH: Neeraj Chopra Qualifies For Paris Olympics Men’s Javelin Final With Season-Best 89.34m Throw

Neeraj Chopra, the reigning Olympic champion, secured his spot in the men’s javelin final at the Paris Olympics with a stunning first attempt, mirroring his success from the Tokyo Games.

On Tuesday, August 6, at the Stade de France, Chopra threw an impressive 89.34m, marking his season-best effort and the second-best throw of his career. He needed just 10 minutes on the field to achieve this feat.

Competing in Qualification Group B, Chopra’s performance surpassed his previous best of the season—88.36m from the Doha Diamond League. It also exceeded his gold-medal-winning throw from Tokyo (87.58m), setting a new personal Olympic record.

Julian Weber of Germany topped Qualification Group A with a best throw of 87.76m, but Chopra’s early strong performance sent a clear signal to his competitors.

Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, the 2023 World Championship silver medallist, also advanced to the final with an automatic qualifying throw of 86.59m, his season best. Nadeem, the only active Asian javelin thrower to have surpassed 90m, remains one of Chopra’s main rivals for the gold on August 8.

However, fellow Indian javelin thrower Kishore Jena did not qualify for the final, finishing 9th in Qualification Group B with a best throw of 80.73m, falling short of the top 12.