Neeraj Chopra to defend Asian Games javelin title, confirms AFI

AFI has confirmed that Neeraj Chopra will defend his Asian Games javelin title after recovering from a back injury. The Olympic medallist will also compete at the Commonwealth Games as India targets another strong athletics performance at the continental meet.

Bhubaneswar: Indian javelin throw superstar Neeraj Chopra will compete in the Asian Games in Japan in September-October in his bid to defend the title, Athletics Federation of India’s (AFI) selection committee chairman Adille Sumariwalla confirmed on Saturday.

Recovering from a lower back injury he had sustained before the Tokyo World Championships in September 2025, Chopra made a late start to the season at the Doha Diamond League where he finished fourth with a throw of 85.69m.

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The 28-year-old two-time Olympic medallist has already confirmed participation in the Commonwealth Games but has not unequivocally said that he will compete in the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya from September 19 to October 4.

“Yes. He (Chopra) will participate both in the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games. He has qualified already and he is recovering. He has done 86m (85.69m) in his very first event, which is fantastic,” Sumariwalla told PTI in an exclusive interview.

“He won a gold with 88m (in the 2022 Asian Games in China), so he is already close to 86m, then we see no reason why he will not do well in both the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games.” The AFI’s selection committee is expected to name the Indian team for the Asian Games on Sunday, the last day of the ongoing National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships here.

Chopra had won gold in the last edition of the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, in 2023, with a throw of 88.88m.

In Aichi-Nagoya, Chopra is expected to face rising Sri Lankan star Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage, who breached the 90m mark earlier this year and won two Diamond League titles, including in Doha where Chopra finished fourth.

Pakistan’s Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem could also be in the mix, which will make the Asian Games men’s javelin throw highly competitive.

Nadeem is also the reigning Asian and Commonwealth Games champion. He, however, pulled out of the Doha Diamond League on June 19 after the organisers initially announced his name.

The AFI has, however, left it to Chopra on whether he wants to participate in any event before the Commonwealth Games to be held in Glasgow from July 23 to August 2.

Chopra was earlier named in the 32-member Indian team for the Commonwealth Games.

“We have left it to him (about competition before CWG), we are saying his medical team, his coach, everyone will sit together and work out which are the best competitions he needs to compete,” said Sumariwalla, a former president of the AFI and currently a vice president of World Athletics.

“The important thing was for him to qualify, which he did. Now the important thing is how do we make him peak at the Commonwealth Games as well as in the Asian Games.”

2031 World Athletics Senior Championships host to be announced in September =========================================================

India has made a bid for hosting the World Athletics Senior Championships in either 2029 or 2031 and Sumariwalla said a decision on the host city will be announced in September. India has also placed a bid to host the 2028 World U20 Championships in Ahmedabad.

“We made bids to host both these championships in Ahmedabad. A team from World Athletics was there in Ahmedabad, along with the chair of the bid committee. They inspected the infrastructure, evaluated the transport, hotels, operations, weather, food, everything.

“It is a very tough competition, there is London which has hosted World Championships and Olympic Games, there is Munich that has also hosted the Olympic Games, there is Kenya which has done two Junior World Championships, so the fight is tremendous.

“We presented our best case scenario to them and let’s wait and see what happens. A decision on the host city will be taken at a meeting after the World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest (September 11-13).” Sumariwalla said the AFI is hoping that the athletes will do better in the Asian Games in Japan than in the earlier edition.

“From what we are seeing, things are going well, we should hopefully do better than we did last time.

“While the government has said those at sixth place and eighth place (for selection), we are taking those at third or fourth places in most events. Yet so many people have qualified, so it just shows the bench strength, it just shows that what AFI is doing is right, that the strategy of AFI is working and we are on the right path.” India won 29 medals in athletics, including six gold, in the 2022 Asian Games and eight medals, including one gold, in the Commonwealth Games.