World Athletics Championships 2023: Neeraj Chopra qualifies for javelin throw final; meets entry standard for Paris Olympics

India’s Neeraj Chopra progressed to the men’s javelin throw final at the World Athletics Championships 2023 after topping the qualifying round in Budapest, Hungary, on Friday.

Competing in slightly overcast conditions, Neeraj Chopra produced a season’s best throw of 88.77m with his first attempt to gain a direct entry into the final scheduled on Sunday. The automatic qualifying mark was 83.00m. The 25-year-old Indian athlete did not go for his next two attempts.

The distance of 88.77m also saw Neeraj Chopra breach the Paris 2024 Olympic entry standard in javelin throw. The qualification window for the Paris 2024 Olympics for track and field athletes began on July 1, 2023. The entry standard for the men’s javelin throw event for the upcoming Summer Games is 85.50m.

Achieving the entry standard is just one part of the Olympic qualification process. National Olympic Committees have the final say as to whether an athlete will be selected to the NOC team for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Neeraj Chopra, the Tokyo 2020 champion and 2022 world championships silver medallist, holds India’s national record of 89.94m. The Indian javelin ace achieved his previous season-best of 88.67 at the Doha Diamond League in May.

“I had a couple of good throws during my warm-up and I felt confident that I would make it past the first round,” Neeraj Chopra said after qualifying for the final.

"I have not competed much this year because I wanted to protect myself from injuries ahead of this competition,” Neeraj explained. “I’ll give my everything at this year’s world championships final on Sunday."

Manu DP, Kishore Jena make javelin final

India’s 23-year-old Manu DP, who was in Group A with Neeraj Chopra, finished sixth overall across both groups and qualified for the final courtesy his throw of 81.31m.

"My target was to achieve the 85m mark,” said Manu DP, who has a personal best of 84.35m. “I was not thinking about the final but my focus was to achieve a new personal best.

“I did not have the best warm-ups before the start and I think that affected my performance today,” the Indian added. “Let's see what happens in the final,"

Kishore Jena, competing in Group B, also made the cut for the 12-man final with an 80.55m throw. He was ninth in the standings.

Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, the Commonwealth Games champion, threw 86.79m with his final attempt to finish second behind Neeraj Chopra, overall. Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic came third with a distance of 83.50. European champion Julian Weber from Germany threw 82.39m to come fourth.

The 2022 world champion Anderson Peters from Grenada had an off day and his best throw measured 78.49m. He missed out on a place in the final after finishing 16th in a field of 36.