The inaugural edition of the Neeraj Chopra Classic, a one-off javelin throw exhibition event, is back on track after being taken off schedule due to the then-ongoing India-Pakistan tensions in the first half of May. NC Classic has now been rescheduled for July 5 at Bengaluru's Sri Kanteerava Outdoor Stadium. Headlined by Neeraj Chopra, India's two-time Olympic medallist, NC Classic will feature seven overseas athletes as well as four other Indian javelin throwers.
Some of the top athletes in the world, including the two-time world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada, Kenya's Julius Yego, Genki Dean of Japan, American javelin thrower Curtis Thompson, Luiz Mauricio Da Silva from Brazil, Germany's Thomas Rohler and Rumesh Pathirage of Sri Lanka, an upcoming South Asian star will be going head-to-head with each other. Among Indians, apart from Chopra, the Asian Games silver medallist Kishore Jena, Sachin Yadav, Rohit Yadav and Sahil Silwal will also be taking part.
"Bringing the Neeraj Chopra Classic back this quickly has taken an enormous collective effort, and we’re happy to confirm its return on July 5," said Karan Yadav, Chief Commercial Officer, JSW Sports. "Our teams have worked tirelessly, and the unwavering support from the Athletics Federation of India, the Karnataka Olympic Association, the Government of Karnataka, and our partners made this possible. The energy around this event is bigger than ever, and we’re set to deliver a celebration of javelin that’s bolder, better, and even more unforgettable."
Chopra had also sent an invitation to the Paris Olympic gold medallist, Arshad Nadeem, for the same, however, the Pakistani athlete had declined the offer. But given the conflict post the terrorist attacks in Pahalgam and Operation Sindoor, which was India's retaliation, even if Nadeem had accepted the invitation, it would have stayed null and void.
In the Asian Athletics Championship in Korea recently, Nadeem won the Gold while Sachin Yadav clinched the Silver medal. Yadav will be keen to replicate his heroics in the NC Classic. On the other hand, Chopra recently finished in second place at the Doha leg of the Diamond but finally crossed the 90m hurdle.
The ticket sales also started again for NC Classic on Tuesday, June 3, with the prices ranging from Rs 199 to 999 for the normal ones while the VIP tickets were priced at Rs 2999, 6,999 and 9,999.
