Neeraj Chopra once again reigned supreme as the 27-year-old won the inaugural NC Classic 2025, which was held at the Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru. It was the first-ever World Athletics Category 'A' event that was held in India, and Neeraj proved his worth, with a throw of 86.18 metres to win the competition. Julius Yego finished second with 84.51 meters. Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Pathirage, who had the lead for a brief time, finished third with a throw of 84.34 metres.
The marquee event featured some world-class athletes from around the globe, including Thomas Rohler of Germany, former world champion Yego of Kenya as well as the likes of Curtis Thompson (USA), Luiz Mauricio da Silva (Brazil), Pathirage (Sri Lanka) and Cyprian Mrzyglod (Poland), among others.
Notably, it was a tough outing for all the competitors as they had to throw in a strong wind blowing almost head-on. Athletes were spotted wearing jackets after their throw, which tells that the temperature in Bengaluru wasn’t easy for the athletes. Meanwhile, Neeraj was the last contestant in each round and unfortunately, he marked off the tournament with a foul.
He scripted a tremendous comeback in the second and third rounds, and that was enough for him to get the job done. After the tournament was over, plenty of athletes addressed the crowd. Given that the tournament of such a kind was hosted for the first time in India, the response among the fans was tremendous.
Meanwhile, before the Classic, Neeraj highlighted that he is eager to build a culture for the Indian athletes and with the support of everyone, he expected to make the event better. One can argue that it was successful by a distance.
"I feel like I'm in a dream. Medals are a different thing. But I've given something like this to India and to Indian athletes. I'm very happy about that. This is the beginning of a new chapter in our athletics. The support I'm getting from everyone. From the government, from KOA (Karnataka Olympic Association), from World Athletics, from the sponsors... I feel like we can make this event even better,” Neeraj said.
