Neeraj Chopra breaks national record at Paavo Nurmi Games, finishes second - Highlights

Neeraj Chopra back to turf at the Paavo Nurmi Games 2022: Follow the live updates of the Paavo Nurmi Games as Chopra competes alongsides World Champions in Turku, Finland.

Neeraj Chopra will return in action for his first competition since his 2020 Tokyo Olympics gold.

Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra returned to competition for the first time after the Tokyo Olympics and marked his return with a new national record to his name at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Finland. Check out the highlights

• More to come from Neeraj Chopra this season with events like World Championship and Commonwealth Games in the coming months.  This silver would do him a world of good as he continues his journey to become the best in the business.  
• Oliver Helander takes the win at his home turf and he must be mighty proud of what he pulled off today. In a field chock-a-block with World and Olympic champions, the Finn has managed a career-defining first place after a personal best throw of 89.83m. But sadly, no one gets to take home the Ford Mustang. That would have been a sight. Imagine if Neeraj had got past the 93.09m mark!! It would have been as iconic as Ravi Shastri's gold-coloured Audi.  
• Neeraj Chopra ends second at the Paavo Nurmi Games on his return . But there is more glory in this second-placed finish than it meets the eye. That 89.30m mark is a stamp of authority from the Olympic Champion. Here is a man who hadn't thrown a javelin competitively ever since that glorious moment in Tokyo. And that was 311 days ago!!!  
• FINAL ROUND: Neeraj releases the javelin and turns away with his hands aloft! Did he think he got past Helander when it left his grasp? But, sadly, it's just 85.85m for him!!  
• Fifth Round: Yet another X down the column for Neeraj. Anderson Peters of Grenada puts an 86.60m down to push himself to third on the table.  
• Fourth Round: Neeraj faults again, he seems to have lost his rhythm a bit. Two more throws for him to get it back. Meanwhile Helander too misses his mark. It is all building up nicely at the Paavo Nurmi Games.  
• Three more rounds to go. The heavyweights are yet to turn up and Finland's Oliver Helander continues to hold a surprise lead ahead of Neeraj Chopra., whose 89.3m throw is now the 5th best throw of the season.  
• Third Round: Oliver Helander can't hit the heights (or rather the distance) of the previous round this time out. Just 81m for him. But good news for him, as Neeraj fumbles and has his effort chalked off. Not that it would have mattered as it was well below the standards both of them have set today.  
• There are four throw lefts to go and the 90m mark is hanging right out there for Neeraj. And the intensity of this competition is the right atmosphere for him to pull it off. Fingers crossed!!

• Neeraj Chopra unleashes one. 89.30m. WOW! WOW! Personal best and a National Record right there. But Oliver Helander of Finland, with a personal best of 89.93, pushes Neeraj down to second.  
• Andreas Hoffman of Germany takes his first throw and fails to hit the 80m mark. Neeraj leads after round one. Anderson Peters follows him with 84.65.  
• And Neeraj starts off. He touches 86.92 on the very first throw on his comeback. WHAT A START!!! It is almost as if he never took a break. He lets out a scream of satisfaction as the javelin touched the ground beyond the 85m line. He seems satisfied but he will come back for more.  
• As we wait patiently for Neeraj to take off at Turku, here is a deeper look into the mind of the master:  
• Neeraj has a huge task in hand today. All the big fishes of men's javelin are making an appearance today, including the current world champion Anderson Peters, London Olympics gold medalist Kershon Walcott and Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Jakub Vadlejch. Anderson Peters had touched 93.27m last month at Doha, which is also his personal best.  
• The Paavo Nurmi Games, named after Finnish long-distance legend, Paavo Nurmi,  is Finland’s top track and field competition has been held every year since 1957. The competition is a Continental Tour Gold meet, a top-tier World Athletics event.  
• Almost like a cherry on top of a cake, the competition organisers have offered an extra incentive for the javelin throwers.  Anyone who throws beyond the Finnish record mark of 93.09m set by Aki Parviainen in 1999 will win a Ford Mustang Mach-E.  The incentive, four years ago, was considerably better, you could say. Throwers who went past 93.09 metres were promised the title deed to an island.  
• The stage is set for the most exciting javelin throw competition of the year. 311 days after Neeraj Chopra won India's first ever athletics medal and second ever gold medal at the Olympics, he is back in action. And what a stage he has chosen to make his comeback.

 

PREVIEW

Neeraj Chopra will be seen in action at Paavo Nurmi Games in Finland on Tuesday for his first competition since his 2020 Tokyo Olympics gold.

Chopra's competitors includes Tokyo silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic, Germany's Julian Weber and Andreas Hofmann, and reigning world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada.

When will Neeraj Chopra be seen in action at Paavo Nurmi Games 2022?

Neeraj Chopra will be in action in the men’s javelin throw event on Tuesday from 10:20PM IST (Indian Standard Time) onwards.

Where to watch the Paavo Nurmi Games 2022 live in India?

The Paavo Nurmi Games 2022 will be shown on the Sports18 1 and Sports18 1 HD TV channels in India. Live streaming of the event will be available on Voot.

(With inputs from Olympics website)