Neeraj Chopra (Image credit: X)
New Delhi: Indian javelin star Neeraj Chopra will compete at the Asian Games in Japan later this year as he looks to defend his gold medal, Athletics Federation of India (AFI) selection committee chairman Adil Sumariwala confirmed on Saturday.The two-time Olympic medalist has already confirmed his participation in the Commonwealth Games and the AFC has now clarified that he will also be part of India’s campaign at the Asian Games in Aichi Nagoya from September 19 to October 4.
“He will participate in both.”Sumariwala said Chopra has recovered well from the lower back injury that delayed the start of the 2026 season.“Yes. He (Chopra) will participate in both the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games.
He has already qualified and is recovering. “He cleared 86m (85.69m) in his first event, which is fantastic.”“He won a gold medal with 88m (at the 2022 Asian Games in China), so he’s already close to 86m, so we see no reason why he can’t do well at both the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games.”Chopra made his first appearance of the season at the Doha Diamond League, where he finished fourth with a best throw of 85.69 meters after recovering from a lower back injury.
A tough challenge awaitsChopra will head to Japan as the defending Asian Games champion after winning gold in Hangzhou in 2023 with a throw of 88.88 metres.The men’s javelin throw is expected to be hotly contested, with Sri Lankan athlete Romesh Tharanga Pathiraj, who crossed the 90m mark earlier this year, among the top contenders. Pakistani Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem may also be present in the stadium.Focus on reaching climax at the right timeSumariwala said the IBF left it to Chopra and his support staff to decide whether he needed another competition before the Commonwealth Games.“We left it up to him (in terms of competing before the CWG), saying his medical team, his coach and everyone will sit down together and work out what the best matches are for him to compete,” he said.“The important thing for him was to qualify, which he did. Now the important thing is how we can get him to the top at the Commonwealth Games as well as the Asian Games.”India hopes to host the World ChampionshipSumariwala also said that India is still in the race to host the 2029 or 2031 World Athletics Championships in Ahmedabad.
The country has also applied to host the 2028 World U-20 Championship.“We had submitted bids to host these two championships in Ahmedabad. There was a team from World Athletics in Ahmedabad, along with the chairman of the bid committee. They examined the infrastructure and evaluated transportation, hotels, operations, weather, food, everything.”“It is a very tough competition. There is London, which has hosted the World Championships and the Olympic Games, there is Munich, which has also hosted the Olympics, and there is Kenya, which has hosted two world junior championships, so the battle is huge.”“We gave them the best scenarios and let’s wait and see what happens. The decision on the host city will be made at a meeting after the World Athletics Championships in Budapest (11-13 September).”AFI confident ahead of Asian GamesLooking at the Asian Games, Sumariwala said the federation expects India to perform better than in the previous edition.He added: “From what we see, things are going well, and we hope to perform better than we did last time.”“While the government said sixth and eighth place finishers (for selection), we take those who finish third or fourth in most events. However, a lot of people have qualified, so this just shows the strength of the bench, it just shows that what the AFI is doing is right, that the AFI strategy is working and we are on the right track.”
