Indian javelin throwers Neeraj Chopra and Kishore Jena are set to begin their Paris Olympics campaign at the Stade de France in Paris on Tuesday. At noontime in Paris, Neeraj Chopra will kickstart his Olympic title defence in the qualifying round of the men’s javelin throw competition. Neeraj will either have to be among the top 12 throwers in the qualification round or will have to make a throw of 84m in three attempts to automatically qualify for the final at the Stad de France on August 8.
A total of 32 competitors will be taking part in qualification across two group of 16 athletes, 11 of whom have already thrown over 85m this season.
Knowing Neeraj, he will likely try to qualify in his very first throw without waiting on the efforts of the rest of the field. The 26-year-old learned this the hard way at the 2017 World Championships in London where he tried to conserve energy only to miss out on the finals of his first world event.
At the Tokyo Games, Chopra qualified with his very first throw of the competition – which was also the longest throw across the competing pool. That effort set a statement that reverberated all the way to the final and marked the Indian as one to watch out for.
In Paris, Neeraj’s reputation will precede him but there will be other claimants who will want to raise their profiles. While Johannes Vetter isn’t going to be competing at the Olympics, compatriot Max Dehning — the only athlete to have thrown over 90m this season — will be one of the other 15 athletes competing alongside Neeraj in group B of qualification.
Also grouped with Neeraj is Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, who took a shock second-place finish at the World Championships last year. Nadeem has competed just once this season but looks in top shape ahead of the Olympics. Also in Neeraj’s group is two-time world champion Anderson Peters. After a dismal 2023, Peters is slowly getting into shape for the 2024 season.
Neeraj’s qualification will be preceded by the qualification of Group A which includes Kishore Jena – the only other Indian to qualify for the javelin throw at the Olympics – as well as Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch who has beaten Neeraj earlier this season.
As he begins his quest to repeat his laurels in Paris, Sportstar takes a look at his record at global events since his crowning moment in Tokyo.
| Year | Event | Position | Throw 1 | Throw 2 | Throw 3 | Throw 4 | Throw 5 | Throw 6 |
| 2022 | Paavo Nurmi Games, Turkey | 2nd | 86.92 | 89.30 | X | X | X | 85.85 |
| 2022 | Kuortane Games | 1st | 86.69 | X | X | - | - | - |
| 2022 | Stockholm Diamond League | 2nd | 89.94 | 84.37 | 87.46 | 84.77 | 86.67 | 86.84 |
| 2022 | World Championships, Eugen (Q) | - | 88.39 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2022 | World Championships, Eugene | 2nd | X | 82.39 | 86.37 | 88.13 | - | - |
| 2022 | Lausanne Diamond League | 1st | 89.08 | 85.18 | - | X | - | 80.04 |
| 2022 | Diamond League Final, Zurich | 1st | X | 88.44 | 88.00 | 86.11 | 87.00 | 83.60 |
| 2023 | Diamond League, Doha | 1st | 88.67 | 86.04 | 85.47 | X | 84.37 | 86.52 |
| 2023 | Diamond League, Lausanne | 1st | X | 83.52 | 85.04 | X | 87.66 | 84.15 |
| 2023 | World Championships, Budapest (Q) | - | 88.77 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2023 | World Championships, Budapest | 1st | X | 88.17 | 86.32 | 86.64 | 87.73 | 83.96 |
| 2023 | Diamond League, Zurich | 2nd | 80.79 | X | X | 85.22 | X | 85.71 |
| 2023 | Diamond League Final, Eugene | 2nd | X | 83.80 | 81.37 | X | 80.74 | 80.90 |
| 2024 | Diamond League, Doha | 2nd | X | 84.93m | 86.24m | 86.18m | 82.28m | 88.36m |
| 2024 | Federation Cup, Bhubaneswar | 1st | 82m | X | 81.29m | 82.27m | - | - |
| 2024 | Paavo Nurmi Games | 1st | 83.62m | 83.45m | 85.97m | 82.21m | X | 82.97m |
WHEN AND WHERE TO WATCH
When will the Paris Olympics javelin throw event start in Paris?
The Diamond League javelin throw event will start at 1:50PM IST onwards on Tuesday, August 6, 2024.
Where to watch the 2024 Paris Olympics javelin throw event on TV in India?
The 2024 Paris Olympics javelin throw event will be available on the Sports18 network.
Where to live stream the 2024 Paris Olympics League javelin throw event in India?
The live streaming of Neeraj Chopra and Kishore Jena’s 2024 Paris Olympics javelin throw event will be available on JioCinema.
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