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 "Neeraj Chopra Classic may not match Olympic glory, but star athlete's new venture is no less meaningful")
 "Watch: Neeraj Chopra's 86.18m throw that sealed Indian javelin star's triumph at inaugural Neeraj Chopra Classic")
Neeraj Chopra Classic 2025 Highlights: Neeraj Chopra arrives as a strong favourite to win a third event on the trot in the inaugural edition of the Neeraj Chopra Classic that takes place at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday.
After finishing runner-up at the Doha Diamond League meet despite breaching the 90-metre mark for the first time in his career, Chopra collected his first victory of the 2025 season in the next DL meet in Paris. That was followed by another victory, this time at the Golden Spike Ostrava event in Czech Republic.
Rohler, Yego among the leading names competing at inaugural NC Classic
And at the event named after himself where he dons a new hat – that of a co-organiser – he faces stiff competition from the likes of German javelin star Thomas Rohler, who had won gold in the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Some of the other international stars competing at the event are Kenya’s Julius Yego and Brazil’s Luiz Mauricio da Silva, ranked sixth and 10th respectively in the men’s javelin throw world rankings.
Also invited to the event were Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem and Grenada’s Anderson Peters, who had won gold and bronze respectively in last year’s Paris Olympics with Chopra winning silver.
While Nadeem’s name was withdrawn due to the recent military conflict between India and Pakistan that broke out after the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, Peters withdrew three days before the event due to an injury.