New Delhi: Neeraj Chopra, India’s two-time Olympic medallist and current world champion, is set to be the main highlight of a major international javelin tournament happening in India later this year, as announced by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) on Tuesday.

Chopra has become a global sensation in track and field, thanks to his incredible achievements, including consecutive medals at the Olympics and World Championships.

After clinching gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, he followed it up with a silver in Eugene (2022) and a gold in Budapest (2023) at the World Championships, along with an Olympic silver in Paris last year. He’s also had a strong presence in the Diamond League, consistently finishing on the podium for the past three years, winning the title in Zurich in 2022 and taking silver in Eugene (2023) and Brussels (2024).

Despite his success, Chopra has only competed once on home soil since then. He participated in the Federation Cup in Bhubaneswar last May, where he secured victory with a throw of 82.27m. Since his Tokyo triumph, he’s been training abroad and competing internationally. The AFI is now looking to host this international event to leverage his fame and boost the sport's profile in India.

We're planning to host an amazing javelin competition in India featuring the world's top 10 javelin throwers. This exclusive tournament is set to take place later this year, according to outgoing AFI president Adille Sumariwalla in Chandigarh.

Neeraj Chopra will be part of the event's organizing team, collaborating with JSW, an international company, and the AFI to bring this competition to life. The excitement around javelin is huge, especially with August 7 being celebrated as National Javelin Day, marking the day Neeraj clinched gold in Tokyo, Sumariwalla mentioned.

The AFI aims to hold this event after the World Championships in Tokyo, which are happening from September 13-21.

Chopra is expected to actively promote this home event and will personally invite the top throwers. It's common for global stars in track and field to rally support for their local events, which helps organizers attract elite athletes.

Chopra is a big name in the athletics scene and gets along really well with the top javelin throwers. Last year, he had to pull out of the Golden Spike meet in the Czech Republic because of a minor injury, but he kept his promise to Olympic medalist Jakub Vadlejch and showed up as a guest at his home event, which the organizers really appreciated.

With Chopra, along with long jumper Murali Sreeshankar and steeplechaser Avinash Sable, Indian athletics is making some serious waves globally. The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) is keen on bringing more international events to the country. Sumariwalla mentioned that India is looking to host the 2029 World Championships and the 2027 World Relays.

The AFI has already put in a request for a bronze level Continental Tour event in Bhubaneswar this year and has also submitted a bid to host the 2028 World Junior (U-20) Championships. This was shared last month during World Athletics president Sebastian Coe's visit to India.

“I’ve been to Bhubaneswar for the Asian Championships in 2017, and it’s a solid sports city. I’ve also received a letter of intent from AFI to host the U-20 World Championships, and that’s now with our bidding team along with other proposals,” Coe said, confirming the continental tour meet in Bhubaneswar.

“They (AFI) are eager to host more of our events. But it’s up to our evaluation panel and bidding teams to review everything and ensure all the necessary resources are in place,” Coe added.

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