Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Neeraj Chopra has regained the No. 1 position in the World Rankings, in the latest list that was put out by World Athletics this week. Chopra had slipped out of the top position, which was taken over by Anderson Peters on September 17 last year, after the Grenadian athlete won the Diamond League Final in Brussels.
Neeraj Chopra Leads the Pack Ahead of Peters and Nadeem
Neeraj currently has 1445 points, and Peters has 1431. German superstar Anderson Peters is third with 1407 points, while Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem is fourth with 1370 points.
Strong 2025 Season for Neeraj Chopra Across Global Meets
Neeraj defends his World Championships gold in Tokyo in September. He started his season with an invitational tournament in Potchefstroom, where he won gold with a throw of 84.52m. And then in the season opener of the Diamond League in Doha, he first crossed the 90m mark when he threw 90.23m.
Although breaking the 90m barrier, he had to be content with the runner-up position, beaten by Weber. And then in the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial competition in Chorzow, he was second with 84.14m. He eventually beat Weber at the Paris Diamond League, with a first-round throw of 88.16m. He then earned his third victory of the year at the Ostrava Golden Spike with a 88.16m throw.
Neeraj will next feature at the first-ever Neeraj Chopra Classic, to be held in Bengaluru on July 5.
Breaking the 90m Barrier: A Personal and National Milestone
Once past the 90m mark, he said to RevSportz, “Many people asked questions. Many even used to say that it won’t happen since I’ve been attempting to break 90m since 2018. I used to reach 88-89 several times, but not 90m. So at last, not mine, but the weight is off the Indians’ shoulders.
He is also working presently with javelin great Zelezny, chief coach and appointed last year in that position. Neeraj has disclosed that they started working together in February only.
