The much-awaited Neeraj Chopra Classic is set to pit the Javelin stars onto the field together as the event will feature some of the sport's greatest stars in Bengaluru. In the first edition of the tournament, 12 athletes will put their foot forward, named after and founded by India's two-time Olympic medalist, Neeraj Chopra.
12 athletes will feature in the event at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium, with four Indians and eight overseas stars going hammer and tongs in Bengaluru. Among the Indians, Neeraj headlines the list with Sachin Yadav, Rohit Yadav and Yash Vir Singh being the other three.
On the overseas roster, former Olympic champion Thomas Rohler, former world champion Julius Yego and Curtis Thompson headline the list.
Javelin throwers at NC Classic and their best throws
1 - Neeraj Chopra: The Indian icon, Neeraj, is a strong favourite to win the event founded by him. Neeraj is a two-time Olympic medalist, having won Gold in 2020 Tokyo Games and Silver in 2024 Paris Games. Chopra comes into the event on the back of breaching the 90m mark for the first time in his career, when he hurled his Javelin to 90.23m mark at Doha Diamond League and his subsequent wins at Paris Diamond League and the Golden Spike meet in Ostrava, Czechia.
Personal Best: 90.23m, Season's Best: 90.23m
2 - Julius Yego: Yego, the former world champion, is on a mission to battle for the sport in Kenya. Yego is a 2015 World Champion and 2016 Rio Olympics Silver medalist, having hurled his Javelin to a best distance of 92.72m at the Worlds. Yego has shown his class even in the recent times with a throw of 87.72m in the Paris Olympics final, that had earned him only a fifth-placed finish.
Personal Best: 92.72m , Season's Best: 83.08m
3 - Thomas Rohler: The former Olympic champion, Rohler is also on the star roster of this event. Having won the Olympics in 2016, Thomas is an elite athlete and holds the third-highest throw ever by a Javelin star, having thrown his spear to 93.90m in 2017. However, he has not competed at major events since 2020 not been in mid 80s this season.
Personal Best: 93.90m, Season's Best: 80.79m
4 - Curtis Thompson: America's Thompson has the ability to spring surprises like he did late in March with a throw of 87.76m in a competition in the USA. However, he lacks consistency and hasn't hurled his spear above 82m in the five subsequent events he has participated in.
Personal Best: 87.76m, Season's Best: 87.76m
5 - Luiz Mauricio da Silva: Brazil's Luiz Mauricio da Silva has been around the 85m mark in his career, and in recent times too. Luiz has hurled his spear to 86.62m at the Paris Diamond League, which makes this the farthest throw by a South American. The Brazilian also has a win at the Kip Keino Classic to his name and will be gunning to spring a surprise at the NC Classic.
Personal Best: 86.62m, Season's Best: 86.62m
6 - Cyprian Mryzyglod: Mryzyglod is the replacement for Anderson Peters in the event after the latter withdrew due to an injury. The Pole recently threw his Javelin to 85.92m and won the event in Kuortane. He was the runner-up to Yego at the Paavo Nurmi Games with a throw of 82.90m.
Personal Best: 85.92m, Season's Best: 85.92m
7 - Rumesh Pathirage: The Sri Lankan has hogged the limelight in recent months. He is coming into the event on the back of a win at the Asian Throwing Championships with a throw of 85.45m. He had hurled his Javelin to 85.41m at the Perth Track Classic earlier in March.
Personal Best: 85.45m, Season's Best: 85.45m
8 - Martin Konecny: The Czech star has thrown his spear over 80m twice in his career, including his best effort of 80.59m out of the seven events he has participated in this year. His best effort came in the Golden Spike meet, which Neeraj won.
Personal Best: 80.59m, Season's Best: 80.59m
9 - Sachin Yadav: Sachin is the next best Javelin thrower for India after Neeraj. He recently finished second in the Asian Athletics Championships, behind Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem. Sachin has six throws of over 80m with his best effort coming at the Asian Athletics with a throw of 85.16m. He had also won the Federation Cup in April.
Personal Best: 85.16m, Season's Best: 85.16m
10 - Rohit Yadav: Rohit was also touted as the next big thing for India in the sport. He has shown his mettle with a throw of 83.40m and has at least 10 throws in excess to 80m. However, injuries have pegged his career.
Personal Best: 83.40m, Season's Best: 80.47m
11 - Yash Vir Singh: Yash is another Indian to keep an eye on. He has hurled his spear over 80m twice in the five events he has participated in this year with an 82.57m effort being his best one this season and overall too.
Personal Best: 82.57m | Season's Best: 82.57m
12 - Sahil Silwal: Sahil is the fourth Indian on the list. A left-handed Javelin thrower, Sahil has a season-best of 77.84m that he achieved at the Federation Cup in Kochi. His career-best throw reads 81.61m at the Indian Championships in Panchkula in June 2024.
Personal Best: 81.81m, Season's Best: 77.84m